Lost In Reality
by Frogata
Summary: Sarina, an OC, wishes for Halt, Gilan and Will to come to her world so that she could meet them. Now they have to overcome the challenges of the modern world with Sarina as their guide.
1. The Wish

**A/N: I had this idea a while ago, but I never got around top writing it until now. OC is loosely based off me. Loosley! Anyway, enjoy! (My first chappie story! Yay!)**

Lost in Reality

Chapter 1: The Wish

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SARINA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" Everyone was singing at my birthday party, and were starting on the hip-hip-hoorays when my mother walked into the room. She was carrying the _best _cake that I had ever seen! It was a circular cake, with green icing, and sitting on top, sculpted out of various moulded and iced cake pieces, was the most detailed cake dragon _ever_. To make things even better, the dragon was purple, my favourite colour! The cake base had thirteen candles around the dragon.

My eyes were wide at the sight of it, as I wondered the amount of time it would take to make something like that! Then I remembered my mother trying to usher me out of the kitchen so that I couldn't see what she was doing. Probably making the cake.

Standing next to me was my best friend Ellie. She had her mouth wide open and was drooling slightly from the sight of the cake. My mother set the cake down at the dinner table in front of me, and I just sat there, staring at it. That is, until my uncle prodded me in the back and handed me a knife. _Wait a second, they want me to cut this beautiful cake? What about the dragon! I don't want to do that! _I thought.

"It's a chocolate cake," my Mum whispered into my ear. That did it. I was going to cut that cake and eat it!

"If the knife comes out dirty you have to kiss the nearest boy!" My uncle yelled. That's just great. I sighed and grabbed my dad, pulling him by the sleeve over to the cake. In my family, we always make the first cut of the cake before we blow out the candles.

I was a little bit confused as to where to make the first cut, as it towered above as well. I decided to cut its tail off. Ellie looked at me, shocked that I had just cut the tail off a dragon, even if it was made out of cake. I love dragons, to me they are the best non-existent thing in the world.

As luck would have it, too, the knife came out dirty, covered in chocolate cake. I gave my dad a quick peck on the cheek before scowling at my big brother, who had taken a photo. I set my eyes back on the cake dragon with the disembodied appendage, and blew out the candles. I scrunched my nose, closed my eyes and wished.

_I wish that Ranger's Apprentice was real, and that I can meet Will and Halt and Gilan._

I opened my eyes and everybody was clapping. As the night went by, I saw the dragon slowly disappear into the mouths of my guests, as they chatted and danced and, generally, partied. Ellie kept asking me what I wished for, and all I told her was that it had something to do with Ranger's Apprentice. She looked at me with growing excitement, we had both read book one to book ten of Ranger's Apprentice and we loved them. It was all that we talked about, really.

"Soo, Sarina, did you ask if you could you could get a bow and arrow set?" Ellie asked teasingly.

"No, my grandad got me one, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, forgot about that!"

"I haven't even opened most of my presents yet. Too many, everybody thinks that it's such a big deal being a teenager,"

"Well you can't avoid it. I'm afraid you're just going to have to cope being an oldie like me!"

Ellie had had her thirteenth birthday just a month ago. She had a Ranger's Apprentice birthday party. Mine was better. It had dragons.

"Let's go outside," Ellie suggested. Well, not really suggested as she was pulling me towards the back door. We walked outside and sat down on one of the chairs that had been unfolded on the lawn. We were lucky when we bought the house, to have such a big backyard. It was about half the size of an oval.

"So, do you want to play tip?" Ellie asked me.

I raised an eyebrow (Yes I picked that up from Ranger's Apprentice) and told her "After I've just eaten a massive slice of cake? Not bloody likely."

"Awww, come on! You know you want to play! Look! TIP!" She tackled me to the ground as she said 'tip' and got up straight away, running off. I started chasing her, giving an annoyed growl. She squealed as I tackled her.

"Tip. Now I already said that I wasn't going to play!" I scolded her as I walked off. Pretty soon after she tackled me again. That was the last straw. I couldn't let her get away with the last tip! We played 'tackle tip' for the rest of the night, until her parents arrived to pick her up. Our methods for playing tip were very tomboyish I admit, but it was fun at least.

Everybody eventually left, and I went to bed. It was rather hot that night and I went to sleep thinking, _Don't you love typical Australian weather..._ I was totally unaware of the surprises that I would get the next morning.


	2. Unexpected Visitors

**Opps, I forgot the disclaimer in the last chappie. Ok, then. ****I disclaim.**** Alright. **

**Yay! At this point I have cured my writers block by writing! Woo! And guess what? I'm listening to PENDULUM. Yeah, beat that. Anyway, chapter 2! Enjoy! (this is where it gets interesting!) **

Lost In Reality

Chapter Two: Unexpected Visitors

_Ooh ooh ooh ooh ahh ahh ahh ahh! !_

_Oh shut up, stupid Kookaburras. _I thought as I groggily sat up in bed. I stretched my arms, said 'hello' to my cat (who had taken the liberty to lie on my stomach) and got out of bed, knocking my cat off of me while at it. He looked at me with puppy dog eyes -wait- no, scratch that, kitten eyes and yawned. His name was Casper, the big fluffy, white ball of fat that one could call a cat. He had a brown blotch of fur on either side of his tummy, a brown tail, and a black blotch behind his left ear. In short, he was the cutest cat on the planet. Even if he was a little too fat.

My bed was up against the window, towards the front of the house, upstairs. I lived in a street that was a cul-de-sac at one end. My house was reasonably large. It had 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a garage and carport. My room however, was the third biggest bedroom in the house. It had shelves along my walls for various books and dragon statues or models or whatever you call them. I had a desk in the corner, by the door, with a laptop set up, and a dressing table opposite the desk. My door was opposite the window, and at the end of my bed (with about a meter's space left in-between) was my wardrobe.

I walked over to my dressing table, (which had a mirror) and flicked a strand of long, brown hair out of my eyes. I am tall and sort of stocky, (not at all fat) I have broad shoulders I guess. I will never, _ever_ wear a skirt or dress unless it is for school or a _really _special occasion. I have braces with purple brackets and dark brown eyes. My favourite thing to do in the whole entire world is to carve wood and build things out of wood, so I have several bows that I had tried to make.

I got dressed into a dragon T-shirt (of course) and navy blue cargo pants. I then made my way downstairs and greeted my parents. My brother had moved out last year. I sat down at the dining table and ate breakfast with my parents.

"So, you're thirteen now!"

"Yes dad," I replied, yawning. "I'm going to let the cat out, ok?"

"Sure."

I got up after finishing my exceptionally boring breakfast (cereal and toast with Vegemite) and followed the cat to the door that he wanted to leave through. He stopped at the back door and started pawing at it and meowing at me. I opened the door to let him out and my jaw hit the floor. In front of me, was Halt's log cabin, I was sure of it.

I edged my way towards the cabin, wary of what could be inside, even though I already knew the answer. I walked up the stairs onto the veranda and up to the door. I was about to knock when I paused. Should I knock? Should I not? I took a deep breath and knocked on the door three times.

A man opened the door. He looked to be about 45, maybe 47 with a scruffy beard and a similar hairstyle, coloured brown and pepper gray. His eyes were dark brown and somewhat piercing and he was about the same height as me, which was pretty short as far as men go.

"H-h-hi, er, Halt." I stammered. He raised an eyebrow and I couldn't help but grin. He then raised the other eyebrow, presumably at why I was grinning. I did something then that neither of us expected. I jumped forward and gave him a big hug. "I can't believe that you are really here!" I squeaked. Halt had both his eyebrows up, his eyes wide and his mouth open. He quickly shut them.

"Who are you, and why are you hugging me?" He spoke with a gruff voice. I stopped hugging him and muttered an apology. I didn't notice until then, but two other people were standing just behind him. One was a blond man with sharp blue eyes, and the other looked to be a 17 year old boy with brown hair and brown eyes. The younger boy had his mouth open and the older man was grinning. I guessed that those two were none other than Will and Gilan.

"Who have we got here?" Gilan asked, the grin still on his face.

"Um, my name is Sarina and I sort of wished for you guys to come here for my birthday, but I had no idea that it would come true!" I wanted to tell them everything, but then I remembered that this was the modern world, they wouldn't understand half of the things here.

"Sarina huh? That's a nice name – wait! Did you just say that you wished us to come here?" Gilan asked. I nodded and they finally looked behind me at my house. All three of them were dumbstruck, and I realised that that was what Will had been staring at the whole time. "Whoa," Was the only word Gilan could say.

"Uhh, welcome to my house?" I said, rather uncertain about it all. Casper waddled up beside me, and I bent down to pick him up. He sat in my arms, purring, totally oblivious to the new arrivals. All three of them then set their eyes on me. Yeah, I was not your average girl. They had never seen a girl that wasn't wearing a skirt or dress before and certainly not sneakers. That would be completely new to them.

This was going to be fun.


	3. The Meeting

**A/N: Hello! I left it at an interesting cliffie last time! Or at least I hoped it was interesting... O.O**

**Anyway, enjoy! I disclaim.**

Lost In Reality

Chapter 3: The Meeting

"I don't mean to be blunt, but if you could stop gawking at me, I can show you around my house," I told the three men. They looked back at the house and then back to me. I grinned again, showing off my braces, and Will went pale.

"W-what is that on your teeth!" he said, his voice rather high pitched. I closed my mouth and started feeling around with my tongue to see if I had any food left on my teeth. Then it hit me.

"Oh, these are braces. They move my teeth around really slowly to make them straighter," I explained. Will didn't look convinced. "Will, how can you be sure that I'm not the only person with braces? A lot of people have them in this world." Halt was looking at Casper now, still in my arms, so I held him out. Halt shook his head and Gilan picked him up instead, playing with his ear.

"Can I see your cabin?" I asked Halt excitedly. He nodded and they let me in. It was just like the book! The only difference was that the flowers had wilted substantially. I came to a door and turned to face Will. He sensed my question.

"That is my room and over there is Halt's room," he said.

"Can I see? Please?" Will seemed to have gotten used to me by now, seeing as he rolled his eyes and nodded. I opened the door eagerly and looked into the room. It was surprisingly small. _How is Gilan supposed to fit in this cabin along with Will and Halt?_ I thought. Then an idea struck me as I backed out of Will's room.

"Do you guys want to stay at my house? We have two guest rooms that are much, much bigger than these," I offered, "I'll just have to check with my parents first."

"You don't have to, we are fine here," Halt said. I shook my head.

"It's hardly fair to have Gilan sleep on the couch, plus, I think you'll find the beds at my house way more comfy than the ones here." Gilan whispered something in Halt's ear and finally he nodded.

"But _only_ if your parents say it is okay."

"Cool! I'll be back in a tic!" I told them, before running out the door and back to my house. I glanced at Casper as I jumped over him. It seemed Gilan had put him down, and now he was lying, belly up, in the sun.

I opened the door and bounded over to the kitchen. Mum and dad were still there. I walked up to dad and sat down next to him. He looked at me and grinned.

"So, my gorgeous girl, what's up?" He asked.

"Well, there are three friends of mine that I would like to have over. They're new to this place and they have never lived in a proper house before, could they stay for a while? I could teach them how to live here?"

"I'm not sure about this, can I meet them first?"

"Sure! I'll go get them!" I said happily, watching his bemused expression. I ran back to Halt's cabin, jumping over Casper once more and over to Halt.

"Dad says he wants to meet you guys first, but I have one condition," Halt gestured for me to continue, "You can't take any weapons." Gilan and Will were listening in and I could tell that they were reluctant, especially due to what I said next. "Also, the weather in this country is a lot hotter than Araluen. You'll cook if you wear those thick cloaks. You don't need to sneak around anyway."

"Sarina, us Rangers don't go anywhere without our weapons," Halt explained.

"Halt," I used his name for emphasis, "my father won't be happy for you to even enter the house with weapons, let alone stay there."

"I'm a King's Ranger, and it's my duty to have the weapons on my person at all times!" Halt was looking pretty frustrated. I guess he didn't want to lose an argument with a 13 year old girl.

"Ok, I understand that, but in this country, if you have weapons, you will go to jail."

"Jail?"

"Like the dungeons, but you stay there for much longer."

"I see. Well, I suppose we can lay down our cloak and weapons for a while. Will, Gilan, put your bows down and let's go."

So we walked across the backyard and just before we went inside I turned around and said, "Don't touch _anything_." They all nodded, so we proceeded into the house.

Halt and Gilan kept walking, but Will stayed put, shocked yet again by something from my world. I rolled my eyes, then grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward. He snapped out of his daze and we walked into the kitchen. Dad was at the table, waiting for me.

"Hi dad! These are my friends!" I told him, gesturing to Will, Halt and Gilan. It seems my dad wasn't expecting two middle aged men and a teenage boy, as his face illustrated for me.

Will, Halt and Gilan awkwardly muttered 'hello' and 'nice to meet you' while my dad did the same. All in all, it was quite funny to watch, though I would never show it, I don't know what they would do to me!

"Well, dad, this is Will, Halt, and Gilan." I pointed to each of them as I said their name.

Dad stood up and formally introduced himself.

"So! Where are you guys from?"

"Araluen," Gilan said, grinning. I was, to say, more than a little worried when he said that.

"Araluen? Hahahaha! I see you have read Ranger's Apprentice just like my daughter! Good one!" my dad slapped Gilan heartily on the back while I gave him a look that said _Shut up! Please shut up!_ He took the hint and calmed down. "*Achem* erm, welcome to Australia!"

"They're really nice, dad. Can they stay for a while?" I asked him, hoping he wouldn't back out because they were standing right there.

"Yeah, I guess they can stay for a little while. Come on upstairs and Sarina will show you your rooms."

We followed him up the stairs (though we didn't need to, it's not like I didn't know the way) and over to the guest rooms. When my brother moved out, I had gotten his room, so they second guest room was the bigger one. The only thing about it was, the walls were pale pink. We had a look at that one first. It had a bunk bed in it.

"Ok, two of you can stay in here, and one of you can go in the smaller room." My dad told them matter-of-factly.

"I nominate Will and Gilan for this room!" Halt said, catching sight of the wall colour. Gilan and Will gave him a pained look as he walked off to the other room.

The other guest room had pale green walls which Halt loved, and a single bed. Quickly, so that only Will and Gilan would see, he poked his tongue out at them. Gilan had his mouth wide open. _Did Halt just stick his tongue out?_

Over the course of the day the three men moved their belongings into their respected rooms. Will and Gilan had had a fight over who was getting the top bunk. I taught them how to play Scissors, Paper, Rock and it was sorted pretty quickly. Halt learnt too.

That night, we all sat down at the cluttered table and ate pizza for dinner. Mum was away at a work meeting, so she couldn't come. Will, Halt and Gilan were all commenting on how delicious the food was. I suppose that was only to be expected as they mostly ate broth all their lives. We all said our goodnights and went to bed after. I had a good sleep, until the dream...

The dream that would make my job, a whole lot harder.


	4. The Dream

**A/N: Hello, and Happy New Year! Or whatever... I know I haven't updated for a while, but if you're reading this then your troubles are over! Inspiration has been at a very low level. Plus I have gotten caught in the Tomorrow When The War Began series, so inspiration for RA has started drowning in a pit of quicksand. Not sure if you understand what I'm talking/typing about or not, but um... Enjoy? Yes, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I disclaim. But one can dream... *stares into space***

Lost In Reality

Chapter 4: The Dream

I don't recall ever asking for anything like this when I made that wish, that's for sure. Last I checked I was stumbling through the bushes. That's the funny thing about dreams isn't it? One minute you remember them like it was still happening, and another they just disappear. Not with this dream though, no. I remember this dream as clear as day.

My dreams have also never had any real connection to real life, unless you count that one time I had a dream about hunting rabbits. It was the night after I actually _had_ been hunting rabbits, the only difference was that I was letting dogs loose instead of using snare traps. Not a nice dream, but it also isn't the one I'm talking about here. No, this dream was different again. It was telling me what I had to do in the _future_.

_I heard a noise outside my window. It was a very faint noise, almost like a scratching noise, but there was a sort of twang in-between. However, it was just enough to wake me up. I straightened up in my bed and stretched my arms. My eyes were unfocused and it took a while for them to get adjusted to the dark of the night. I waited another couple of minutes before getting up and walking silently to my window. I looked out and there was a single figure silhouetted against the streetlights._

_I chucked on some clothes (the usual) and headed outside. I had heard the warnings from my parents not to approach strangers, but this time I felt like this person, whoever he/she was, was trustworthy. I walked over, stifling a yawn. They hadn't moved from their spot in the middle of the road. The bitumen was wet with dew, giving it an eerie glistening effect. I approached the person and saw to my bewilderment, that they had no face._

_In hindsight, it was like staring at a mannequin, but I would never have figured that while in the dream. I was scared, but I didn't show it, as the figure took a step towards me, I realised how short it was, about the height of a child. It seemed to be wrapped in a blanket of some kind._

_Then, before I even knew what was happening, the world seemed to melt around me, until it was just the figure and I. Words appeared all around me. 'They must learn to live with society', that's all it said. The bright, red words seemed to burn through me, as I was pulled to yet another place._

_I was in the thick bush, the Aussie scrub, behind my house. Though I didn't know it then - I trusted my instinct to lead me out of the bush, struggling to get through the dense cover of weeds and rocks that littered the ground. I was stumbling at every second step, until at last I came to my house. _

_Then I was pulled out of that world once more to face the eyes of my mother._

"Ok, are you awake now?" My mother asked me, her eyes joking and warm. I've always loved my mum, she would always make me smile – and still does. She gave me a shake as I felt myself falling asleep again. "Alright, maybe you're not quite awake yet, but we'll get there!" She seemed to talk to herself that time, and I sat up, realising that I was actually awake.

"Morning," I said with a grin. Normally I would be annoyed at waking up so early for the holidays, (8:00am) but I was excited to see how 'The Wish Gang' was going. I dragged myself out of bed, and when my mum left, got changed. I brushed my hair until it was sleek and shiny, and then headed out of my room.

I descended down the stairs excitedly, and Halt, Will and Gilan were waiting at the table for me. They were all looking in my direction, eyebrows raised. _Halt is contagious when it comes to his eyebrow habits. _I thought. I grinned at them, and asked "Why the strange faces? Is something wrong?"

"Not really, you just clomped down the stairs with such energy that a mouse could hear you from a mile away," Halt answered. I was in too good a mood to be worried by that remark, because I just went over to him and lightly punched his arm. Not hard. Well, he certainly didn't jump up and start running around the room screaming while clutching at his arm. He just looked at me and said "Why did you do that?"

"Oh, no reason, say, anyone fancy a coffee?" I asked, wanting to see their reactions in person. I have to say it was pretty funny. All three of their faces lit up and Gilan grinned like an overexcited child. Much like me, really. Halt's mouth twitched slightly at the corners, and Will's mouth was open.

"They have coffee here?" He asked me, amazement in his voice.

"The best," I replied. I was rather fun joking around with Will when he didn't know it. I could see by Halt that he knew I was joking. "Ok then, I will make you three the best coffee you have ever tasted!"

I wandered over to the kitchen bench and fumbled around for the Hawaiian coffee beans that my mother had gotten as a present. She didn't really like them because they were so rich, but my dad did, so the packet was open. I poured some into the coffee machine and turned it on. I went back to the group and asked them how they prefer it. They all said they liked it black with a tablespoon of honey. I grinned at the way they had picked up Halt's habits again, and went over to the coffee machine again.

I picked out three large mugs from the cupboard above and waited for the coffee machine to finish. When it did, I pulled the container/kettle off the back of it (it held the coffee once it was made) and poured it out into the mugs. Then I went to the fridge and pulled out the honey. I stirred in a tablespoon to each mug and made my way back to the living room.

I could see they were getting excited at just the smell. I put the mugs down on the table (two of them, I had to go back for the third) while they watched them eagerly. As soon as I put then down they grabbed at them like wild dogs. I guess 24 hours without coffee is too much.

My mum was frying up some eggs and bacon on the stove and the smell was wafting through the house, making our mouths water. Then I heard the wonderful sound of the stove turning off, and then the sound of plates clattering, and then the smell got stronger and at last! Mum walked into the room carrying two plates and asking me to get the other two. I went and got the other plates and stared at the contents. Fried egg with the yolk intact and gooey inside, with rashes of bacon fried until crunchy and greasy, and two slices of lightly buttered toast. It was one of the best breakfasts I could have hoped for.

My mum had to leave for work, so we sat down and ate without her.

"This is the best thing I have ever tasted!" Will exclaimed, with his mouth full.

I grinned and said "That's what you said at dinner last night, and anyway, don't you have this at banquets or something?"

"Not usually," Halt said, "We have roast pork and fresh fruit, more that sort of thing."

"Hmm, ok!" I said, through a mouthful of bacon and toast. I had a glass of orange juice, and they were even puzzled at that. "This is orange juice," I told them. A look of understanding passed across their faces as I said that, so they _must_ have seen that before. They took a sip of their coffee and they all had different faces.

Halt had his eyes wide, staring into the steamy black liquid.

Will had his eyes closed and was humming slightly as he drank.

Gilan was a lot less subtle. He had his mouth open and looked at me with wonder.

"This. Is. The. Best. Coffee. EVER!" He said, his voice getting louder with each word.

I beamed at the compliment and muttered thanks, before continuing to eat my breakfast.

"Oh yeah, it came to me in a dream last night, but I think that you guys have to become active members of society before you can return home." I couldn't believe myself for saying it so casually, but I did.

As surprised as I was, their faces were priceless.

**A/N: Ok, that is CHAPTER 4 OVER! Yay! I have to say, that one was hard. And could you please review people? It is rather off-putting when you get no reviews to continue a story. Just click that little button at the bottom of this writing and... There you go! Thank you!**

**Frogata over and out!**


	5. The Shopping Centre

**A/N: Hi! Look at me, updating... Regularly! Oh mah goodliness! This chapter is a fun one, no scary dreams or whatnot. Oh yeah. IM ON HOLIDAYS RIGHT NOW, ON A LAPPIE, TYPING! Fun holiday, except I still smell like prawn from when we went fishing. Bleck. Better hope Halt doesn't smell me, he really doesn't like prawns... OOH! Inspiration strike! Maybe I'll put something like that in the story... Hmm, I best get on with it now... Enjoy!**

**I disclaim Ranger's Apprentice, but that doesn't mean that I can't dedicate my life writing stories about it! (I'm not dedicating my life to it by the way.)**

Lost In Reality

Chapter 5: The Shopping Centre

We had eaten breakfast and finished our drinks, the two Rangers and company asking for another. I said it wasn't good for them to have too much, but I guess the murderous glare they gave me said otherwise. So, up I got and made them another cuppa. It was then that I realised with a start, that Ellie hadn't met them! Or even heard of them coming here!

I raced over to the phone, the three men had gotten used to my loud moving about by then, so they didn't even lift their heads from their coffees. I picked up the phone and franticly started dialling. I then got an answer from the wrong family. Oops, so I went running back to check the number on the fridge, got the _right_ number, and then went back to the phone.

_*Beep boop boop beep beep boop*_ _Waiting, waiting, waiting..._ I thought, playing with the coiled phone cord. I had the phone against my ear and heard some interference, so I knew she had picked up her phone.

"Hi, this is Ellie speaking, what do you want?" She answered her phone like that all the time, so typical of her.

"Ellie! Get your butt over here, you have GOT to come see this. As in, you will murder me if I didn't let you know about this. Really," I said, excitement growing in my voice. I guess I couldn't really believe it much yet.

"Uh, ok? What is it that you want me to see?"

"No time to explain! Just get over here already!"

"I'll just check with my parents, one sec."

_*footsteps... Waiting, waiting, waiting... Footsteps*_

"Yeah, they say it's fine, I'll be right over!" She said finally. I was so excited I thought I was going to explode! Well, maybe not really, but, the thought remained. I went back to Halt and 'the gang' and grinned at them until they finally looked up at me. I had my eyes closed tightly, and my mouth pulled up in the stupidest grin I could muster. They were, to say the least, unimpressed.

"Why the face? What's happened now?" Halt asked.

"Oh, Halt! You mustn't ask so many questions! Answers will come!" I said cheekily. Will and Gilan both grinned at that. "Oh, ok Halty, I'll tell, you if you're so desperate. My best friend Ellie is coming over and she really likes you guys, so hold your ears shut when she comes, it might get loud." Halt had his eyebrow raised. However, it wasn't long before he went back to his coffee. My grin disappeared.

"Oh come oooooon! Don't be so boring!" I looked down at Halt as I said that. He looked up at me, taking a particularly long sip of his coffee, until he finished the mug. I looked astonished at him, until I realised that all three of them had finished their coffees.

"Ok! Coffee time over! Talk time begins, now!" Gilan said, a grin placed squarely on his face. "Who's this friend?"

I wasn't going to answer that until one of my questions were satisfied. "Do you always sit down, have your coffee in a split second of silence, then talk?" I asked Gilan.

He put on a look of mock-thought and said "Only when it's good coffee! And it is! Better than _kafay_!"

I just smiled sheepishly and shrugged. That was very subtle of me, I have to keep it in mind to never be that subtle again. Not good for my hyperness, while I have it. I froze when I heard the familiar *_ding dong* _of the doorbell. Not long after though, I launched into action and bolted for the door. I jumped the last meter and opened the door with such energy that my hand slammed against the wall. I had to hold back the tears, it hurt so much. I guess there is occasionally a downside to being hyper. Just as I suspected and hoped, there was Ellie, a puzzled look on her face. She was a blond, short haired girl, about the same height as me, strong, but skinny. I grabbed her arm and dragged her through the doorway and into the house.

"Wha, where are we going?" She sputtered out, losing her balance somewhat and almost tripping over Casper, who had taken the liberty to lie in the middle of nowhere. I didn't say anything, just turned the corner, through the kitchen doorway and right in front of the table that had Will, Halt, and Gilan seated, discussing things in low whispers. "OH MY GOODNESS! IS THAT? ARE THEY? THEY ARE! SARINA! WHAT! WHY? WHEN? WHAT?" Well, let's just say I wasn't lying when I said she was a fan of these people. She _adored _them. And just as I had thought, they all had their hands clamped tightly over their ears.

"Oh my Gosh! Sarina! They are just like the books tell them! Oh. My. Gosh! EEEEEK!" She was just squealing and blabbering nonsense at me about them for a full minute until she realised that the whole time she had only gotten a glance of them. She stopped, turned around, remembered her manners (finally) and introduced herself. "Oh, uh, hi! My name's Ellie!"

They mumbled their names to her and she jumped forward. They jumped up from their seats and then jumped backwards, really quickly too, because they were amazing. Well, maybe because they were trained to be so quick, but it doesn't matter, I still think they are amazing, and judging by Ellie, I say she inks that they are way better. "Ellie!" I said, but it didn't seem to have any effect. "OI ELLIE!" I screamed. She heard that all right. By heard it I mean she jumped up and looked at me with a frightened face. Really, closest puppy face that any human could make, she just needed whiskers, a dog nose, fur and all the other features of a dog and it would be perfect! "Oh, sorry. Just, snap out of It and listen to me!" I just thought of a great idea, we would go shopping and get them better clothing! Genius! They really did need some less conspicuous clothing. People would think they were cosplayers or something. "Grab your wallet, we're going shopping!"

She looked excited then and enthusiastically grabbed her wallet from her bag. The Rangers looked at the both of us, two of them with looks of disbelief, the other, showing no emotion at all (guess who). Halt (correct guess!) looked at me, his gaze unfazed, and said "And when do we get a say in this?"

I just grinned at him and said, "You just did Halty poo!" Oops, maybe that wasn't such a good idea to add the 'poo' or to be all smarty pants on him... Oh well, It's not like he's really going to kill me right? ... Right? "Uh, don't kill me!" I squeaked, which was strange because I don't usually squeak either...

"Did you honestly think I was going to kill you?" Halt said. I was about to reply when I saw Gilan and Will behind him nodding their heads with grins. I started giggling softly, and next to me, Ellie was doing the same, until we both just cracked up. Really, we almost fell on the floor! Well, I did, anyway, Ellie was less violent with her laughter. Once we got ourselves under control, Halt spoke again, his expression _more_ puzzled than when he first saw my house. I guess I just do that to people... "What is so funny? Gilan or Will, you better not have anything to do with this..."

"Of course not Halt, we value our lives as if it was our own, which funnily enough, is." Gilan said, crossing into dangerous territory here.

"Don't push me," Halt warned them.

"But it's your fault for leaving so many loopholes in your words!" Will argued.

"That's right Halty poo. Will has a point." I said.

"Stop calling me that, and what kind of a point is that?" Halt said again.

"One that just made you leave another loophole for us to fill with your humiliation!" Ellie said, laughing hard. Everyone else went quiet. Even me. "Uh, did I ruin it?"

We all nodded, well, Halt didn't, he was just trying to comprehend all that just happened. Poor Halty poo...

"OK! Enough dilly dally! We're going shopping!" I said. "DAD! I NEED A LIFT TO THE SHOPS!" I had to yell because he was upstairs in the study and I couldn't be bothered going up there.

I heard a voice from up the stairs. "SAY THE MAGIC WORD!" My dad could really jerk my leg sometimes.

I sighed, "PLEASE? SHOPS?"

"OK! ILL BE THERE IN A TIC!"

*_clomp clomp clomp etc*_

Dad liked to clomp down the stairs, I think it runs in the family. "Ok dad, let's go!"

"Now, wait on! Who's coming?"

"Um, Halt, Gilan, Will, Ellie and I."

It was a good thing we had a people mover or we may have had to squeeze somebody into the boot. It would not be very good if that somebody was Halt. Anyway, he said 'ok' and we went outside to the car and opened the side door.

"You expect me to get in the belly of this metal beast?" Halt said. I laughed, he was quite funny when he didn't know anything.

"Yup, in you go, have a seat!" I gestured to the car and gave Halt a small shove. He warily walked up to it and clambered inside. I nodded my approval. Wait, did this mean that Halt, Gilan and Will were my modern world apprentices? COOL!

"Gilan! Will! She's right, it's fine in here!" Halt called. It was the loudest that I'd heard him speak all day. They edgily moved forward until they were in the back of the car. I showed them how to use seatbelts. They put them on and my father walked out of the house. There were two more seats in the back, so Ellie and I sat next to each other.

Dad started up the car with a rumble, when I realised that I hadn't told them that the 'metal beast' would actually _move_. All three of them bristled and stiffened. "Halt, is it digesting us? Or is it growling? Are we going to die?" Will whispered in his ear. Thanks to my excellent hearing, I picked that up.

"Ok, let me get it through to you. First, we are in a car, that is a machine. It doesn't growl or digest you, it is just a way of transportation. Second, you are not going to die." (I didn't tell them about road safety, that would freak them out big time) "And Third, we are going to the shopping centre to get you some real clothes, like mine, but your size and different. Well, clothes from my world I guess."

They were quiet after that. They were spending all of the time in the car in awe of the other cars and the buildings and houses along the road. But at last we pulled into the carpark. They pulled off their seatbelts (after I showed them how) and got out.

We walked over to the sliding doors, where I had to explain _yet_ another thing after Will nearly squished himself with them. Then, once we got inside, Gilan almost fell over using the escalators and I had to pull Halt away from any shadows. Ellie was no help at all, and there I was trying to explain to three grown men how to go shopping. The sad thing is, that's not far off reality. Plus people were looking at us kind of strangely. I bet it was for a reason, too. We walked past the food court, Dick Smiths, the discount variety store and Diva, but finally we arrived at the trusty, K-mart!

Ellie and I had a bit of a chat about prices and what to buy for them in-between explaining things to the Rangers. We arrived at the men's clothing section where Halt went as low as to hide in the clothing racks. Gilan and Will did too, and we spent 10 minutes trying to find them. But when we did, we got them each 5 pairs of undies and socks, then we went to the pants section of the men's section and got them each to try on 5 pairs of pants, and by the time we finished that, they were very embarrassed. Halt was actually blushing, it was so bad. Bad for them, anyway. Ellie was giggling constantly, and I was teasing them, that made them blush more, and made Ellie giggle more.

We got them to try on 5 shirts, Gilan and Will got T-shirts, Halt got button-up ones. We tried to get them to buy shoes, but they wouldn't give up their silent boots. Maybe they were like superheros, and it was all in the costume. Who knows? Well, I'm sure they do, but I didn't ask. We decided on 5 pairs of everything because my mum washed the clothing once a week, so it would last them. At last we got to the checkout and put all the items on the counter. The cashier was a 15 year old-looking boy with a bored expression.

"That will be $128.50, thank you," He said. I was shocked. That would use up half of my birthday money, but I paid it, with help from Ellie, she paid about a quarter for me. Best thing she has done in a while.

We called my dad on my phone and he picked us up. "Hullo everybody, how much did you spend?" He asked, typical of da, he is so straightforward when it comes to money.

"$128.50," I said.

"ONE HUNDRED AND – ONE HUNDRED! WHAT?" He said, verging on hysteric.

"Cool it dad. I used my money, and do you really think that these guys could run around in that gear for much longer?" He calmed down when I said that.

"I guess so, it's your money after all."

So, we went home, and bummed around for a while, then went to bed.

**There you go! Next chappie will be about... Something... I'm stumped for ideas so, can you please let me know about any ideas for the 'Raggedy Rangers' because I need something! Or else unless I get an idea, there won't be a new chapter (sniffle) . So click that button and review for me! Pwetty pweese?**

**Frogata over and out!**


	6. The Magic Box

**A/N: Ok, first order of business, I have one scene that a reviewer (AmyofRedmont) asked me to clear up. *stifles giggles* Here ya go! It's the clothing rack scene.**

**Ok, I'll describe to you how it was...  
Let's just pretend that I'm Sarina for a tic, so I don't have to write as much. Okies?**

Me: ~sees Halt's face in the clothing racks~ Oh there you are! Jeeze! I've been looking for you for ages!

Halt: So?

Me: So, get your butt out here already! Come on! ~grabs his arm and tries to pull him out after he doesn't move~ Ok, Halty, just GET OUT ALREADY!

Halt: Hissssssssss! I DONT WANNA! GO AWAY!

Ellie: ~Trying to find Gilan or Will~ Can you give me some help please, Sarina?

Me: I'm sort of busy now...

Me:~directs attention back to Halt~ Ok, Halt, come on out now, here's a cookie... Good Halty.

Halt: ~clutching cookie while sitting in the foetal position, rocking slightly~ Precious, precious...

Gilan: NO! GET AWAY! I must hide!

Ellie: Gilan! Where did you go? Come back!

Halt: Omnomnomnnomnom... Where did mah cookie go? WHEREZ MAH COOKIE?

Me: Uh, Halt, you ate it.

Halt: GIMMEH MAH COOKIE!

~everybody suddenly hears Will's girlish yelp~

Will: A little kid was hiding next to me and he tried to bite me! ~continues sobbing~ Bite me... He tried... Ouchy...

Me: Halt, come on now, take my hand. There's a good Ranger, on we come.

~walks over to Will~

Me: Look Will, Halt is here now. No more people trying to bite you...

Halt: ~lunges out and bites Will's arm~ MUNCH!

Will: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGG! HALT BIT ME! ~starts wailing and sobbing~

Me: Ellie, where in the world are you?

...

Gilan: NO! YOU FOUND ME AGAIN! HIDE!

Ellie: Why am I stuck trying to get the master of unseen movement and UNCO out of the clothing racks?

Me: Why am I stuck trying to pull the former MENTOR of that unseen mover out of the clothing racks, AND his apprentice? WHY?

Ellie: Dunno, hey! Gilan! I see you!

Gilan: NO YOU DONT! ~throws his shoe at Ellie~

Ellie: ~dodges and takles Gilan~ GOT YOU! HAHA!

Meanwhile...

Me: ~dragging Will out into the open~ Come ON Will! Get out of the clothes already!

Will: ~still sobbing~ DONT WANNA!

Halt: You owe me a cookie, thief!

10 minutes later...

Halt: ~to me~ To you reckon I'm a size 16 or 18?

Me: Ummmmmmm... I think you better go 16.

THE END! TA DA!

:3 I hope that fills in the blanks... XD Ok, after that, super long author's note, enjoy the actual story! 

**Disclaimer: I disclaim RA, but if I ever make enough money, I'm buying it off Flanny.**

Lost In Reality

Chapter 6: The Magic Box

I don't think that I have ever had to do anything so time consuming and utterly exhausting, than teaching three grown men the use the bathroom appliances properly. I even asked Mum if she could teach them, but she said it was _my_ responsibility. My responsibility, I couldn't believe it!

Anyway, I was pretty bummed out. (No pun intended) I was about as bored as the mouldy fruit in the fruit bowl. Sitting there for days and days, not doing anything, slowly turning into mush...

I guess it was like school work. You finish all of your work for the year, then bum around and do nothing for almost 2 months, then you go back to school to learn the harder stuff and OOPS! 'I forgot my times tables, Miss,' or 'Um, I don't exactly remember how to do that,' or 'Even though I learnt that last year and had no trouble with it, why is it so hard now?' and so on and so forth.

So I had to sharpen their learning skills. I was trying to explain Scrabble to the Ranger's and mini Ranger (and they were really good too! Halt kept finding words like 'bow' or 'king'). Of course, even though I had been playing the game for years, Halt won, Gilan came second, Will third and lucky last, me.

After that they went for a wander around the house, and Will found the T.V remote. Apparently he was curious so he pressed the button that said 'ON'. I was packing up Scrabble when I heard him scream. He ran into the room panting and wide-eyed. "Will! What's wrong?" I asked.

It took him a second to get his breath, but he did eventually, "There was a magic box! And it played noises at me! It was horrible!" I looked at him sympathetically, knowing what the 'magic box' would be.

"Will, that is called a _television_. It shows pictures that move and plays sounds that go with the pictures. Come, I'll show you," I figured that Halt and Gilan shouldn't miss out on a lesson about television, so I called them over too. They were in the kitchen playing with the tap. It seems that in Ranger's Apprentice, they had to get water from a river. We had it easy.

Will and I walked over to the TV on the other side of the house, and met up with mesmerised Halt and Gilan, currently watching a horror film, presumably why Will screamed. It was The Frighteners, and there was the Grim Reaper chasing people and writing numbers in blood on their foreheads. I could see how Will thought it was scary, but I think Gilan and Halt were just thinking up tactical strategies for the victims... They were mumbling among themselves and pointing to certain areas on the screen. I shuffled over and 'accidently' pressed the 'Next Channel' button.

A Jackie Chan fight scene came up next, and the three (well two and a half) Ranger's looked at it, amazed. Jackie Chan was running through a shopping centre, fighting a bunch of thugs. He ran to a little stand and half jumped onto it, pushing off and doing a flip over the heads of the baddies, then continuing to beat them up into the high heavens. "How does he _do_ that?" Gilan asked me.

"It's all fake, by the way. People make the moving pictures – which are called films or movies – so that we can watch them for entertainment," I explained. They looked at me, disappointed. Personally, I think they wanted to learn from him or something. I could picture the scene in my head, and giggled. They all looked at me, horrified. It seemed that Jackie Chan had just kicked somebody in the face so hard they went sailing backwards, and I giggled. "Uh, yeah, that was funny?" I tried, they didn't believe me, but I tried.

I decided that they should stop watching that and flipped to the next channel. It was a cooking show, though I wasn't sure what it was called. They were making garlic prawns, it seemed. At the point that I flipped onto the channel, the host was just cleaning the shrimp, so he was pulling off the heads and taking out the intestines and pulling the little legs off. I thought it was quite interesting, but Halt (who was standing next to me) was going green.

"Halt, are you ok?" Gilan asked him.

"I won't eat dinner or breakfast or lunch for another week," then he ran for the bathroom. I guess it was a good thing I taught them how to use it... I decided to change the channel again, just in case he came back sometime soon, and as luck would have it, SpongeBob Squarepants came on. I forgot to explain cartoons. They looked at it, dumbstruck. SpongeBob did something ridiculous, and Will giggled. He didn't find _everything_ scary then.

I sat down on the couch and Gilan did too. Will sat on an armchair next to the couch. I explained what cartoons were as we watched. Eventually Halt walked in, looking green and woozy. "Hiya, Halt. Feeling ok now?" I said. He nodded. "You remember to flush the toilet like I showed you" He paused his movements when I said that, and headed back for the bathroom. I faintly heard a _whoosh_ and guessed that he hadn't flushed it before. Jeeze, I felt like a mother or a kindergarten teacher.

But basically, we watched TV the rest of the afternoon and Halt gained his appetite back with coffee, poor poor predictable Halt...

**Yah! Finished this chappie. I know it is short, but I can't be bothered writing more. Plus I only had ONE SUGGESTION from a very kind Dodo.123 Thank you very much, Dodo. Also, the suggestion was essentially what I just wrote, sooo yeah. I need ideas, if anyone has any, PLEASE let me know by clicking the little enticing review button below. So, yeah. Oh, right, Um, I guess from chapter one this was a self-insert, so hah! Loosely based off me means nothing it seems... **

**Frogata, over and out!**


	7. A Most Unexpected Turn Of Events!

**A/N: Hi-o! I have to say, I almost forgot this story, and that would sorta be BAD, you know what I'm sayin? Anyhoo, I have to tell you that in this chapter as is written by **_**moi**_** it is from Ellie's point of view. Ok? Did ya get that? Ellie, not Sarina. Coolio. Enjoy!**

Lost In Reality 

Chapter 7: A Most Unexpected Turn Of Events!

"Go fish!" Gilan said, a cheeky grin smack-bang on his face.

"Damn, um, I quit..." Sarina said. Honestly, what was she doing trying to play GO Fish when she didn't even know how? Then again, I don't really know either... But yeah, I was over at Sarina's place playing cards with the Rangers and my best friend, Sarina. Her dad was working and her mum was too. My parents work at home. Which mean that they are there to annoy me more...

I came over because the three Rangers have in fact, been transported from Araluen, and no, not the Araluen in Australia, the Araluen in the world of a book. Or rather, book series. So anyway, we were playing Go Fish for about an hour, when the phone rang. Sarina answered and it was a friend of ours inviting us over for a pool party. At night. So naturally, we wanted to introduce the Rangers to the swimming pool, so we asked if they wanted to come along. And as luck would have it, they did.

We walked to the shops – it was a 3 kilometre walk there and back – and bought swimmers, I had needed new swimmers for a while, so I got a new bikini and Sarina got a rash vest and board shorts. Halt, Gilan, and Will all got a pair of board shorts and a rashie each, too. But theirs wasn't nearly as girly. The sight of Halt in a pink shirt was not a funny one. In the sense that he would kill somebody. Probably, anyway.

We were walking back, shopping bags in arms, Halt eyeing anyone on the street as enemies, Will fiddling with his shirt, Gilan laughing and telling bad jokes. It was fun. Only they were all really strange for a while whenever we went in public, then they calmed down. I asked them why, and they said it was because they felt nude without their cloaks. I told them not to worry, because they were most certainly _not_ nude, and they agreed with me. Thank goodness.

So anyway, we got back to Sarina's place and I finally got to check out Halt's cabin! It was amazing! It was made from logs and the rug was really old in design and they had to get water from a river and there was no oven or anything! And it had a fireplace. I've always wanted a fireplace, but I didn't quite see how it could work in a _wooden cabin_... But hey, it was fiction, right?

Halt was wearing a chequered, dark blue, button-up shirt with dark brown trousers. Gilan was wearing an orange T-shirt with blue jeans. Will was wearing a T-shirt that said "Annoy me and I'll shoot you!" but he didn't know about guns or anything, he thought it was about bows or something. Gilan had wanted that shirt too, but Sarina and I said it would be weird if they both had the same shirt. Will was wearing grey jeans. Sarina was wearing a GIR shirt (he was a robot from a TV show) that she loved and khaki, three quarter length cargo pants, as usual. I was wearing a tank top with a picture of a kitten on it (I love cats) and a yellow skirt with leggings.

So we had our swimmers ready and then messed around playing Go Fish and Snap for a while. Only none of us knew how to play Go Fish, so that didn't really work. It was more like, Gilan or somebody would get a card with a large amount of diamonds on it or hearts or something, and say "GO FISH!" and then we would be all like, "Darn. What a shame, eh?" And so it would continue.

Anyway, it didn't seem to be long at all before 6pm rolled by and we were on our way to the party. The Rangers just had bath towels, because we couldn't afford beach towels. But yeah, we got there and the first thing we saw was the balloons outside the house in a big bundle on the letterbox. It was _very_ funny to see the Will poking them to work out what they were, and when one of them popped, Sarina and I watched, while Will yelped and jumped back, Halt hid a smile (I can tell he was smiling, how _cant_ you smile when someone does something like that?) and Gilan got a bit shocked and then joined in laughing.

We walked up to the front door of the house. Sarina pressed the doorbell button and it rang. A short girl with long, red hair answered. Her name was Veronica. "Oh, hi! You guys are here! Wooow, I did not know that your friends were so old! No offense, hahahahahaha!" She was sort of hyper, I think. But she let us in and we all got dressed and jumped in the pool! It was GIGANTIC! She had a pool the size of, size of... Alaska! I always say that. So we played around and the Rangers had a fun time, the only problem was, it took us a couple of hours to warm up again afterwards, because it was night time.

We played Marco Polo while we were in the pool, then played with the floating stuff. Halt wasn't very enthusiastic about the games, he was just happy relaxing in an inflatable donut, that is, until Gilan tipped it over. It was really funny! But then he started chasing anyone who laughed, after giving Gilan a hard SMACK on the back of the head. He likes his relaxing time, it seems. So we played with water guns after that, Veronica getting along with the Rangers just fine.

When we were all done swimming, we decorated cakes. It was meant to be a girl's party after all. So the three Rangers had to decorate theirs with pink or purple icing. Halt wasn't too fond of that, but Will and Gilan were just happy to eat the cake after. So when we were dressed back into dry clothes we went outside to check out the stars. It was beautiful. There were thousands, and the longer you looked, the more you saw.

I almost jumped when I saw a shooting star. Everybody knows you make a wish when you see one, so I glanced at the others, who didn't seem to notice it, and, I don't know what came over me, I whispered under my breath, _I wish Horace and Alyss were here too!_

**A/N: Yay! Is finished! Now I have two stories to update and I'm trying to do it pretty regularly, but, look how that turned out, hey? I think I might do the next chapter in Ellie's point of view too. Did you like the way I did Ellie? Because I think I may still be stuck in Sarina mode... I hope not though. Tell me what you think! FOR MY SAKE! PLEASE REVIEW! I love not being subtle! It is so me! But yeah, review.**

**Frogata, over and out!**


	8. Couriers, Knights and Problems

**A/N: I'm bored, so I started writing again, yay for you! This is the next/current chapter of Lost In Reality. Cue 'Lost In Space' theme. I like that show... Who else has seen that show? Not many I imagine. Honestly, I have no idea how long this story is going to be, it could just go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on! But hopefully it won't, if I can just work out my plot... :\ This one is also in Ellie's point of view.**

**Oh well, enjoy!**

Lost in Reality

Chapter 8: Couriers, Knights and Problems

I woke up after a long night of realising the potential severity of what I had wished for. Would it come true like Sarina's wish? I both hoped it would and hoped it wouldn't. Of course, the circumstances were different. She wished on her birthday, I wished on a shooting star. She wished on tradition, I wished on a meteoroid hitting the Earth's atmosphere and exploding in the night sky. So, perhaps mine might be granted due to superstition. Perhaps Halt, Gilan, and Will's presence will influence the results of the wish. Maybe other people's wishes have been granted from shooting stars. But the actual fact is, I wished on a rock. I wished on a rock, not a star. But then again, Sarina wished on a bunch of candles, or more specifically, her birthday. But what does a birthday have to do with anything? So what, you are older, but what is the special significance that is gained? Does it have some kind of, 'wish power'? All in all though, nobody could really know. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, John Flanagan is still here, alive, in this country. I wonder what he would do if he found out that hi book characters were alive, in this world, able to talk to him. How would he react?

I was awake, but I had my eyes closed. I didn't want to open them, I was too tired from playing the night before. We had a pool party, and I stayed up until 12:30am. Well, as it so happened, I eventually _did_ open my eyes, to find my alarm clock, staring me in the face with bright blue numbers. It was 6:00am. Great, barley 6 hours sleep. But once I was up, I was up. I stretched my arms out above my head to relieve the tension in them and mid-stretch, I froze. Dead still, for 30 seconds, listening. I could hear snoring. _Snoring. In my room._

Slowly, slowly, I turned around, so that I was facing the other way, and saw two figures asleep on my bedroom floor. One was a guy around 17, maybe 18, with brown hair, a bulky build and small amounts of stubble speckling his face. He was snoring. The other was a woman, about the same age as the man, but I couldn't really tell, she looked young, but mature. She was tall, thin, with long, straight, blond hair and a smooth, graceful-looking face. I decided then and there that my wish had come true. These two strangers could be none other than the Courier, Alyss and the Knight, Horace. Will was still in apprenticeship, because Ranger training requires more time, so these two had already graduated. I was astounded that a petty _rock_ granted my wish. It was, in a word, unfathomable. But as I was caught in the moment of them being in my room, I didn't freak out and hug the first one I saw. Instead, I screamed. Really loudly.

Looking back, I don't know what my parents would have said if they found to strangers asleep in my room after I had just screamed my brains out. Actually no, I don't think they were asleep much longer after I let off the scream. Maybe a millisecond, two at best. When I was done, breathing heavily, they jumped up from their slumber on the floor, and came face to face with each other first, then me. Then their surroundings. Horace was wide-eyed, mouth open in the 'O' of surprise. Alyss was similar, only she didn't have her mouth open as wide, more just her jaw dropped a bit. Still, I have never seen anybody quite as shocked as those two. I wasn't tired anymore, I had woken up, quite suddenly. And despite the moment, the very first thing I said to them was "Horace, you snore."

What came into me? I told my favourite fictional (well, not anymore) character that he snores! I mentally slapped myself and went back to my stammer of 'I can't believe it is really you' and the 'oh my goodness, it came true!' They were pretty flustered. Completely, freaked out. It seemed an age before one of them decided to speak up. Of course, it was none other than the Diplomat.

"Where are we? Who are you? Why did you bring us here? What is _that?_" She let out a garbled string of questions, on the last one, pointing to my electric fan, which was turned on.

"Ok, Alyss, Horace, _calm down_... You are not in Araluen anymore ok? You are in a country called Australia. Ok? Calm down." I comforted them, looking at Horace, then Alyss, then Horace again.

"Stay here a minute, I'll be back. Don't go anywhere ok? Promise?"

"Um, ok..." Horace finally said, realising that I was, in fact, only around 13 years of age. Well, I was 13 years of age, but he wouldn't know that.

I gathered some cloths and headed out to the hallway and down to the bathroom. I went in and got dressed. I chucked on a pair of jeans that I had cut to knee length and an orange tank top with a love heart on it. I only buy those for the sake of wearing them. I buy them on a whim. By the time I was done, and out of my PJs, I went back down the hall, with more confidence than before, and found Horace looking at one of the ornaments I had on my shelf. I quickly told him to put it down, because it was fragile. He nodded, and slowly put it down in its original spot. Alyss was sitting cross-legged on the ground, looking at everything from a distance.

"Hi, I'm back," I said, and they immediately looked at what I was wearing. Alyss tilted her head slightly, and Horace just stared at me. "Um, well, my parents are out at the moment, so, do you want some breakfast?" I laughed, Horace had lifted his head up, and a glint appeared in his eyes. "I'll take that as a yes from you, then Horace. Alyss?" She looked up at me, still confused, but none the less, nodded. I helped her up and pulled the two of them out of my room, down the hall, across the lounge room and into the kitchen. "Ok, what do you want to eat? We have cereal, yogurt, leftover pasta... Stuff like that."

Then I realised that they didn't know what any of those were. They just looked at me, rather puzzled. "Um, fancy a coffee?" They both smiled when I said that, so I turned the kettle on. It did its usual gurgling and rumbling as it started to heat up. But the two new arrivals had fear in their eyes. I quickly intervened "Ok, calm down, nothing to worry about! This here," I gestured to the kettle, "Is called a _kettle_ it uses electricity to boil water, so I can make coffee for you." They looked sceptical, but at last the kettle was done, and I got to mugs out, spooning two teaspoons of coffee grounds, and pouring the hot liquid into them. The coffee dissolved immediately. I asked them if they would like milk in their coffee, and apparently, they didn't put milk in coffee where they were from, but sugar. I offered to let them try it and Alyss did, but Horace stuck with just sugar. I went to the fridge, opened it, pulled out a carton of cold milk, and poured some in Alyss' cup, until it turned from dark browny-black to a light brown. I gave them their respected coffees and they held them tightly, blowing on them to cool them down.

Horace's stomach gave a loud rumble and I giggled. I figured that I would make eggs for breakfast, because they would most likely have eaten them before. I pulled the eggs out of the fridge and put them on the bench. Then I got the egg poacher out of the drawer and cracked an egg into each compartment. Then I put them in the microwave and went to find some bread from the pantry. Alyss was walking up to the microwave, which was making a humming noise, and saw the egg poacher spinning around inside it. Plus, there was light appearing from seemingly nowhere. She backed away from it, and stood beside Horace who was checking out the toaster, as I put the bread in. He was about to stick his fingers into it when I shouted "NO! Don't touch that, Horace! You will be electrocuted!" He looked puzzled, so I explained for him, "Like lightning!" He stopped reaching for it then.

The microwave beeped, the toaster popped, and the Horace jumped as the toaster popped and the microwave beeped. It was rather funny. I laughed. He scowled at me. He had been watching the toaster intently, looking into it and seeing the bread go brown. Then the toaster popped and he jumped back. If you saw that, could you honestly say that you wouldn't laugh? I got two plates out and a bowl. I was going to have Milo cereal.

I pulled the eggs out of the microwave, the toast out of the toaster, put one of each onto the two plates, gave them each a knife and fork, pointed to the table and sent Alyss and Horace off to eat breakfast. I then made my bowl of Milo and joined them. They looked at my bowl, and Horace eyed it cautiously. I told them about cereal and explained static electricity to them, as a way of explaining electricity. Alyss then told me about the time when she was visiting the Baron and reached for the metal door handle, then saw a blue 'miniature lightning bolt' zap her hand. I told her it was electricity she saw and she understood. Horace was finished with breakfast in 5 minutes, Alyss was halfway through and I was almost done.

After breakfast, we walked to Sarina's place, because I had to see if they could stay there. We lived in a fairly small house, and there were no guest rooms. If they wanted to stay (they had no choice in the long run) they would have to stay at Sarina's because she was the only one who had a decent amount of space. A lawnmower was going off in the distance, and I had to calm them down yet again because they thought it was a Wargal or something. But at last we got to Sarina's house. I realised that they didn't know about Halt and the others, but I decided to see how they would react when they saw them. I walked up to the door, with a big smile on my face, and rang the doorbell. And who else should answer, but Sarina.

"Ellie! Hi! ... Is that...?" She said. I nodded, a grin spreading on my face. Alyss and Horace looked confused, but nonetheless, Alyss still had a smile on her face, she had cheered up quite a bit since the morning. Sarina let us into her big house, calling out to somebody, and I knew who. We walked into the lounge room and came face to face with the three Rangers!

"Will!" Alyss cried, running over and giving him a big hug. Horace waited his turn before he could hug Will, after all, it was a ladies first moment. Gilan looked up at them, and my grin before grinning himself.

"Horace! Alyss! What are you doing here?" He said, loudly. Halt looked grim-faced just like he always did, but I could tell that inside he was startled. Call it female intuition. But anyway, they had a big reunion while I explained to Sarina how they got there. Then I told her the matter about space, and how I couldn't house them, and she called her dad. Her dad was amazing, he let anyone stay in her house, because sure enough, she got permission. The idea was, that Alyss would sleep in Sarina's room, and Horace would sleep in Gilan and Will's room, simply because Halt's was too small for another person.

I headed back home, hoping they would be alright, because I had to mind the house while my parents weren't there. I got back just as they arrived, and lucky, too. I don't know what I would have said if there were two strangers in the house, or if I left the house unattended for any length of time. But it all turned out ok in the end. Well, I could see that this was far from the end, but I gained a little more trust in rocks after that...

**Yay! Finished! Wah! Long chappie, well, for my standards. I don't usually write very much. ANYWAY! That is the end of the Ellie POV's for this story, but now I have some inspiration, and I can go back to Sarina-mode. I think I was still stuck in Sarina-mode this time, even. DID YOU LIKE IT? Please review, and also, it bugs me when people favourite a story and don't comment so please review as well, I like to know what you think, and how I can improve. For all of my reviewers, have some jelly. :) Review, and I might just update!**

**Frogata, over and out! **


	9. Ice Cube, Ice Cube, GO AWAY!

**A/N: Wahhhh, so sorry for not updating! I have been SO busy with school, the teachers are in homework mode... Since the beginning of this term... *lame excuse* ANYWAY! I am here, right now, writing A NEW CHAPTER which is dedicated to the wonderful, Dodo123! Cos she loves Gilan so much, awwww. Anyway, enjoy.**

**I really, really, really want to own Rangers Apprentice, but if I did, I would spoil the last two books with my unprofessional writing skills... -.-**

Lost In Reality

Chapter 9: Ice Cube, Ice Cube, GO AWAY!

I woke up to find my alarm clock going off, and Alyss frantically trying to turn it off. Or rather, banging it on the ground repeatedly. "Ahh, Alyss! Don't smash that!" I told her. She had been sleeping in a sleeping bag next to me, on the floor, as we had run out of rooms. We couldn't really have her sharing a room with any of the boys, so she was staying with me. I threw the covers off and took the alarm clock from her. Pressing the button, I sighed heavily, and sank back down into bed.

"Yeah, sorry about that... But it wouldn't turn off! It kept chirping!" Alyss protested.

"Alyss, it isn't alive, it can't chirp. It is just a ummm, thingy, that wakes me up in the morning."

"How do you get it to stop chirping then?"

_Did she even hear what I said...?_

"You press the button right there," I said. Mum had said that I can use my alarm clock, because she isn't exactly the most coordinated when it comes to not stepping on Diplomats. Well, anything really, but especially Diplomats. I waved my arms above my head, and in a really whiney voice, said, "Kyaaaaa, too early! Get me up in an hour!"

No such luck. _THUD!_ I started laughing. It was pretty funny, I mean, who wouldn't? I realised that Gilan had fallen off of the top bunk, and hit the floor. Obviously, the alarm had gone off in that room too. I yawned and rubbed my eyes of the tears as I clambered out of bed and over to the door. I walked out and went to the room next door. _Knock, knock._ They stopped panicking for a second, then started again, as Horace opened the door.

"Sarina! Help! It won't stop!" He pointed to the alarm clock which Will was banging against the wall. They really hated alarm clocks didn't they? But I mean, why is the obvious solution to slam it against a hard object? I shook my head, walked over, pried it out of Will's hands and pressed the 'Off' button.

Everybody in the room sighed heavy sighs of relief. I looked at Gilan, who was sitting cross legged at the bottom of the bunk bed, rubbing his head with his hand. I chuckled and he looked at me.

"What?" He asked.

"Oh nothing. Nothing at all," I told him, completely NOT straight faced, and stifling giggles every second syllable. He looked at me with disbelieving eyes. That did it. I cracked up laughing. And hit my head on the wall as I did so. Then they all started laughing. And then there was another knock on the door as Halt walked in with his alarm clock in his hand, still ringing.

"Please, tell me how to turn this _bloody_ thing off!" He told me, desperately.

"What will I get out of it?" I asked, a grin on my face.

"I won't keep bashing it against the wall," he said. I was, just, open mouthed, surprised. _Halt_ of all people resorted to _slamming an inanimate object against the wall!_ I face palmed. Really hard too, it hurt my head. Then again, my head was already hurting from the constant alarm clocks ringing off. I sighed, reached out for it, and pressed the 'Off' button. Again.

"Ok, everybody, this, is the 'Off' button. Ok? Just press this and it will stop."

I told them to get dressed out of their new, improved, modern pyjamas and into their new, improved, modern day to day clothing. I went back to my room while they were changing to find Alyss fully dressed in her Diplomats white dress. She was really pretty, however the effect was kind of ruined from her frizzy hair. Not that I can comment, mine was like Einstein hair. When everyone was dressed (Horace was borrowing Gilan's clothes for the day) we went down stairs for breakfast.

I found my dad at the kitchen table, eating a slice of toast. He looked up, and, without swallowing his mouthful, said "Oh, hi Sarina! Nice to see you up," with little crumbs of toast spraying out his mouth.

"Ewww, dad! Ever heard of table manners?" I asked, in mock-horror. He grinned. I sighed and went off to the kitchen to make 5 coffees and one iced coffee. I have always liked iced coffee. Normal coffee tastes yucky to me. I decided that they were all going to try cereal for breakfast. I pulled out the muesli, and poured it into 6 bowls, one being extra large to satisfy Horace. He specifically said to give him heaps. I filled them up with milk and brought them over, two by two. They eyed it suspiciously.

I rolled my eyes, went back into the kitchen, and brought out the coffees. They began eating as soon as they could see it. I grinned and sat down next to Alyss and Gilan. Will was next to Alyss, Horace next to Gilan, Halt next to Will and my dad sandwiched between them. He finished his food and went upstairs with the newspaper.

Alyss looked to be enjoying the cereal the most. Well, Alyss and Horace for that matter. But Horace liked ALL food, so he didn't count. Cold milk would have been hard to find, so I guess they liked it because of that.

They each finished their food, and coffee (I had to make another mug for each of the Rangers) and I called Ellie.

"Hello, this is the Granton residence, who is speaking?" Her mother answered.

"Hi, it's me, Sarina, is Ellie there?"

"Oh, yeah, I'll just get her up." I heard footsteps and then faintly, I heard her calling 'Hey Ellie! Get up! It's Sarina on the phone for you!' More footsteps and "She's coming."

"Thanks."

... "Hello?"

"Hiiiiiii Ellie!"

"Hey, what's up?"

"We need to get Alyss and Horace clothes now. Honestly, all we seem to be doing nowadays is shopping for clothes! My pocket money is dwindling dangerously low!"

"Yeah" She agreed.

"But, I have been saving for years!"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Are you listening?"

"Not at all." She replied. I could hear the smug smile in her voice.

I sighed. "Anyway, you cool to come over?"

"Seeing as I just got up, you will have to wait an hour. Hour and a half tops. But yeah, should be able to come over for a shop."

"Coolio! Bye." I said.

"Bye."

Hang up. I turned away from the phone to see Gilan standing right in front of me. I yelped rather loudly and he cracked up laughing. I pouted and looked at him in the eye. Yep, right in the eye.

"And what was that for, Gilan? Hmmmmmm?"

"Getting back at you for this morning." He said with a smirk. I gave him a withering look and walked past him.

Will was trying to figure out a chain puzzle at the kitchen table when I saw him.

"Hey Will!"

He looked up and said "Yeah?"

I grinned, "Guess who has to toilet train Alyss and Horace?"

He looked at me, shocked. He started shaking his head, slowly.

"Oh yes you do. You drank all of my coffee. I'm sure you can handle it too, just remember to flush and wash your hands!" I teased. He got up very slowly, again, and went over to the lounge room where the newbies were learning about television.

Very weakly, he croaked "Alyss, Horace, I'm going to need you guys over here for a second..." He walked off with them, a still expression on his face. Halt looked up at me, and a ghost of a smile twitched across his lips.

"You are so mean, you know that right?"

"Mwahaha, of course I am! Also, why are you watching Home and Away?"

He looked up at me and said "They seemed like interesting examples of life in your world, so I'm watching them." He said. _Yeah, sure thing Halt._ I thought. He looked at me again and raised an eyebrow. "You do realise that you are still in your pyjamas, right?" He asked, in the same way he did earlier.

I looked down and saw my purple plaid pyjama shirt and pants and grinned sheepishly. I went back upstairs and changed into a pair of cargo pants (Of course) and a loose black T-shirt. I put on a pair of joggers and brushed out my 'Einstein hair' until it was smooth and shiny.

Heading back downstairs, I decided to flop on the couch and watch TV with Halt. I didn't know where Gilan was, however. I yawned and stretched, before squealing, as I felt an ice cube down the back of my neck. Standing up and spinning around, I looked over the couch, and found Gilan crouching behind it, with a stupid grin on his face. Honestly, he could really be annoying sometimes!

"Ok, please tell me that you are going to leave it at that." I said, as I tried to shake the ice cube out from the back of my shirt. It dropped on the carpet behind me.

"You pooped an ice cube," He said.

"Oh real mature Gilan," I said. I playfully slapped his arm with a smile.

Meanwhile, Halt was watching the whole exchange with interest, and asked Gilan where he got an ice cube. Gilan lead the way to the freezer in the kitchen and they played with ice for a bit. Well, basically, they were using Ranger skills to put ice cubes down each other's shirts.

I sighed and went to my book. I was originally reading Ranger's Apprentice book 6, but that would have really confused them, plus the whole 'This is your future' thing would have been too tempting, so I hid my Ranger's Apprentice books. This was the book Twilight. I hated them. Absolutely hated them, but it was fun to switch the dialogue around. Like pretend that they are all shouting, and add the words 'dumb ass' to the end of every sentence they say. I was just giggling through the whole book.

I heard the door bell ring, and I realised just how long I had been reading. I got up and answered it to find who else, but Ellie. "Hi-o!" I said. She looked at me, right in the eye, and yawned. I face palmed.

Anyway, she came in and we called everyone into the lounge room. Gilan was standing behind Ellie, unknown to her. She screamed really loudly as Gilan put an ice cube down the back of her shirt. "Alright Gilan, I know this is really fun and all, but can you _please_ stop doing that to people?" I asked him as Ellie was jumping around in circles trying to get it out.

He grinned and nodded. I looked over at Will. He was like Tomato-Head. His face was bright red. Alyss and Horace were standing next to him, looking quite pale, in sharp contrast to Will. I giggled as Gilan made his 'You pooped an ice cube' joke to Ellie. I saw Will, Alyss and Horace stiffen up as he said the word 'pooped'.

"Ok! Children! Children!" I said, calming them down.

"And this is coming from the 13 year old, the youngest of us," said Gilan. I looked him in the eye, waiting for him to be quiet. When he was finished, I continued.

"We need to take Alyss and Horace clothing shopping, because they cant stay with the clothes they have here."

I felt a tingling sensation at the back of my head and realised there was somebody behind me. I swung around as fast as possible, to find myself face to face with who else, but Gilan. With an ice cube in his hand. Where the back of my neck used to be. Honestly, why did I ever show him the freezer? It was going to be the end of me!

He grinned and put the ice cube in his mouth. I stood and watched him, he had a straight face. But then... "Wbla! Cblod! Colbd!" He said, spitting the ice cube out onto his hand. I grinned.

"Anyway! Clothes shopping now! Lets go! Gilan get away from the kitchen door." I grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the door. Everyone else followed. I had already told dad I was going.

It was a Friday, so the markets were open, they are a good half hours walk to get there, but you can buy heaps of cheap clothing, as well as other things. Alyss was eyeing everything, probably letting her inner shopper out for a minute. Horace went with Halt, Will, Gilan and Ellie to find his clothes, I wandered around with Alyss. We got her... Undergarments, as well as some dresses, skirts, tank tops, shoes, you name it. After about an hour, we met up by the street, shopping bags full and wallets sadly depleted. At least it turned out cheaper than when we went shopping for Halt, Will, and Gilan's clothing.

We walked back, explaining various things to Horace and Alyss, and also Will, Halt and Gilan. One of them being cars. Horace had screamed girlishly and run behind a fence post when he first saw one, Alyss cowered behind Will. The other was lawnmowers. And sprinklers. And also garden gnomes, Christmas lights, power lines, telegraph poles, concrete, and about a GAZILLION more.

When we finally got back to my house, and put the clothes away, we had lunch. Ellie had to go home shortly after. She had to do chores. I tried to get the Rangers to have something else except coffee, but if looks could kill, I'd be dead 40 times over. Gilan also had a glass of water.

"Can I have some ice for my water?" He asked. I eyed him warily. "I promise I won't put ice down the back of your shirt again."

I decided to get him ice anyway, so I did. And the first thing he did was throw it at me. It went down the front of my shirt instead. "GILAN!" I said, quite loudly too.

"I put it down the _front_ of your shirt this time!" He said, matter-of-factly.

I sighed and we finished lunch. We then taught Alyss and Horace how to play our 'special' game of Go Fish (I really need to ask my dad how to play that) and then we ran around outside for a bit. We watched Halt and Will training with their bows (Amazing!) and then we lazed around. Horace was constantly snacking all day, and Will had a cat-nap on the couch.

We somehow managed to entertain ourselves until dinner time, when we had fish and chips. Mum had gotten home late, so I didn't get to see her before bed-time. Then we all went to bed after a pretty uneventful day. Nobody expected what would happen the next morning...

**A/N: Yaaaay! Finished this chapter! Dedicated to Dodo123, cos she loves Gilan (don't deny it Dodo!) :3. Please don't kill me, ANYWAY! Did ya like it, hate it? Please review, I am making a big effort to write this for you. Yes, that's right YOU, right THERE. In front of the screen. RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE COMPUTER SCREEN... O.O**

**Ok, creepy moment over, lol. Could you please also give me suggestions as to what I can do next? I need help! Ooh! I think this is the longest chapter yet! Yaaaay!  
**

**Frogata, over and out!**


	10. Cat Fights!

**A/N: Hello! I am SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY! I HAVE BEEN SUPER SLACK! Please forgive meeeee! I was caught up with reading Death Note fanfiction... And before that, watching Death Note... And before THAT, uhhhhhh... sleeping :P**

**Now, I thank you faithful reviewers! Your reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! ^^ I have been suffering from a dilemma, I'm not sure if anyone else has this problem, but I randomly get the most AMAZING ideas for a story, then with the intention of writing it down, I forget it. IT IS SO ANNOYING! Arg, anyway, I have kept you from reading this chapter for quite some time (or not, if you haven't read this, which you wouldn't know I knew because you hadn't), did the brackets confuse you? Ok, good. As always, review please! And enjoy the chappie!**

**Oh yeah... I don't own Ranger's Apprentice, but I do enjoy torturing Gilan. Hehehe... :3**

Lost In Reality

Chapter 10: Cat Fights

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn! Another morning! I woke up and looked over to the empty sleeping bag on the floor next to me. It had seemed that Alyss had gotten up. Groaning, I flopped out of bed, and not even bothering to brush my hair, stumbled downstairs in search of breakfast. I walked over to the kitchen to see Gilan making himself lunch. Wait a minute... LUNCH?

Ok, so I over slept. Shoot me. Still though, he looked up at my presence and grinned.

"Hey Sarina! We sent Alyss back to your room a while ago, we thought you were dead or something!" He said, still grinning.

"I gotta get 'm breakfsst..." I mumbled back. I was so tired that morning. Er, afternoon. He looked at me, amused, and walked off with his tuna sandwich. My eyes widened as I saw what he was eating. "Gilan..." I said quickly, "You might want to eat that in two seconds... Like, now."

"Why?"

"Oh no... Oh _no..._ It has smelt it!"

"What has smelt what?" He asked, dumbfounded.

My eyes darkened. "... The cat..." I said evilly, pointing in mock horror at Casper, sitting behind Gilan, giving off his best Puss in Boots eyes, and saying the most adorable little thing I have ever known any animal to ever do EVER. He meowed. Yes that's right. He made the same noise that every other cat on the planet did. But for some reason (probably the Puss in Boots eyes) it seemed cuter this time. You know why? Because I knew deep down inside he was EVIL! No, it was not the Puss in Boots eyes after all. Gilan shook his head in wonder and walked off to eat his food.

Casper followed. Gilan took a bite out of his tuna sandwich, and I decided that breakfast, no, _lunch_ could wait until later. I sat down next to him and picked up Casper. He tried to squirm out of my grip, but he couldn't, FOR I WAS TOO STRONG FOR AN OVERWEIGHT, OLD CAT!

"Mrauw?" He begged Gilan, twisting out of my grip and landing at Gilan's feet.

"What's up kitty? Want some tuna?" Mistake number 1. Offer tuna to the cat.

He pulled a chunk of tuna out of his sandwich and fed it to Casper, who gobbled it up and licked his chops greedily. Mistake number 2. Actually _give _the cat tuna.

He smiled at petted Casper's head. Mistake number 3. Reward the cat for being greedy. Oh, he was in for it now.

I stared at Casper, with the _you-do-realise-that-you're-getting-it-later _look. He eyed me confidently, and let out a yawn. N'awwwww... I can't stay mad at him! I can only glare at him as he watches Gilan eating his food, plotting some evil plan to get more tuna. I looked at the sandwich again, and grimaced.

"G-Gilan... You did remember to _drain_ the tuna before you put it onto the bread, right?"

"Huh? Drain it? What are you talking about?" He asked.

I face palmed, looking at the sloppy bread that was falling apart with tuna juice. "As in, you drain the tuna before you put it on the bread so that the bread doesn't fall apart and taste really gross and tuna oil-y."

He looked down at the sandwich again. "Right... Forgot about that..."

"You mean you didn't even notice?"

"Uhhh... Not exactly, no..."

Face palm.

Gilan finished off the disintegrating, oily sandwich, and went to wash his hands and put the plate in the dishwasher. Casper followed. He walked over to the lounge room. Casper followed. He sat down on the couch next to Will and Horace and watched TV. Casper plodded over and jumped up onto the couch, placing himself rather contently on Gilan's lap. I sighed. _It begins..._

* * *

I got myself _lunch_ of crumpets and cheese, then went upstairs and changed into a dark green shirt with a cartoon bird on it, and light grey cargos. I then brushed my hair which had been sticking up at all possible angles until it sat straight and behaved itself. Heading back downstairs, I noticed a faint tingling in the back of my throat. Getting a glass of water, I took a gulp, hoping it would go away. No such luck. It just hurt even more.

I went to the lounge room and sat down on the floor. "Where is Alyss and Halt?" I asked Will. He slowly drew his attention away from The Simpsons before answering.

"I think they are out the back somewhere."

"Cool, thanks." I said, walking out of the room and upstairs once more. Shoes helped if I wanted to go outside. Generally. Depends on the circumstances. I plodded back downstairs and out the back door. Halt was up a tree, Ranger cloak on, throwing knives at another tree, before swinging to a new branch and sitting atop it to shoot a few arrows at another tree. Seriously, those trees were practically _made_ of holes. And because of the constant bombardment, they all had sticky red sap oozing out of the holes, as if they were bleeding. Alyss was sitting in the middle of the backyard reading a book. She was wearing a light blue tank top and pink shorts. She looked up, and I noticed she had burnt shoulders.

"Hi Sarina, what's the matter?" She asked.

I sighed. "You _do _know you're sunburnt right? You can't just sit out here in the peak of day in _summer_ no less and not get sunburnt. I'm surprised the book didn't catch on fire!"

"Really? I'm fine. Didn't even notice it."

"Well, you're going to turn into a fried egg, seriously. Sit in the shade or something."

She thought about it before nodding and moving to the shaded veranda of Halt's cabin. My dad had very _kindly _filled Halt's room in said cabin full of gardening tools. Forget the fact that there is a gigantic cabin in our backyard. He doesn't care. He just has a shed now. Honestly!

I went back inside and dragged the boys out to practise. Will and Horace decided to practise hand to hand fighting, while I challenged Gilan to a fight. Not a real fight, just to see how good my hand to hand fighting was in his terms.

We stood in the middle of the yard, ready to fight, when Horace next to us started laughing. He was sitting on Will's back, who was struggling, saying things like "no fair! You're bigger than me!" It was all rather amusing.

I stepped forward, as did Gilan, and he said "Attack me with all the strength and drive you got. For real, don't hold back." As much as I would have liked to jump in and beat him up to prove him I was better, I instead jumped in and threw a rather _wonkelated _kick at him, which he dodged, before grabbing my ankle and lifting it up, putting me off balance. I fell on my butt, and he helped me up. "You see, you have to work on your balance a little more as you kick. If you lean too far back to try and put more power into it, then I only have to bump your foot and you fall over. Have another go!" He said cheerfully.

I tried another kick, aiming for his side. I stepped forward with my left foot before swinging my right leg around and losing my balance again, falling over. He didn't even _do _anything that time! I scowled and got up, trying for a punch instead. I ducked down low and tried for a punch just below his ribcage. He caught my hand, and tugged on my arm, bringing me stumbling forward as he dodged my falling over. Will, who was behind him at the time, helpfully caught me and sent me stumbling back over to Gilan. It was then that Will got tackled by Horace for not paying attention, and was sat on again.

"See, that time, the punch itself wasn't all that bad, but the way you position your thumb, and how you position your arm before you throw it could lead to injury and I can anticipate your moves." He said. "If you clench your fist, your thumb has to be underneath your fingers, because if it is at the side, it sticks out. So depending on how hard you hit, in a real fight, there is the potential to break your thumb." He put his own hand in the way I was clenching it, and slowly hit his other hand with it, demonstrating how it would snap backwards with any force. He showed me the correct way, before instructing me on how to hold my arm before the punch.

"Again, if you put all the thrust into the punch, and rear it back before punching, you can tear the muscles in your shoulder blades. That, and I can clearly tell you are about to punch me, and anticipate it. What you need to do, is use these muscles right here," he pointed to his triceps, "and suddenly lash out with heaps of power. It takes practise, but it can be done. Try it."

I made sure I held my hand correctly and threw a punch at the air. I tried to put heaps of force into it, but it just felt like I was trying to tear my own arm off. I grinned sheepishly – it was better than the last punch, but I only realised just then how much practise I needed before I could do any real fighting.

"Another thing I noticed, is that you don't make any noise as you throw a punch or kick." He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, a puzzled expression on my face.

"Well, you get more force, if you release the built up energy as you hit something. Throw a kick at me, but don't make any noise." I did as he told me to, trying to get my balance in check. It went askew at the last moment and my knee bent slightly. "See? Now try screaming as you kick." I looked at him, before trying it out anyways. I half-heartedly threw a kick with a faint 'hah'. He raised an eyebrow and said rather loudly, "HAH! Not 'hah'" he said 'hah' in a high pitched, girly voice. That annoyed me. I scowled again, before really throwing the best kick I had, with the loudest 'HAH!' I could manage. Suprisingly, I was able to feel the kick fly a lot steadier, and it had a lot more power. Smiling to myself, I aimed a kick at Gilan, who caught it, but made a little 'oof' noise. "Jeeze, you _can _kick hard if you want to! Good work!"

"Thank you, your Gilany-ness." I said sarcastically.

"Gilany-ness?" He said, confused.

"Yes. You have lots of Gilany-ness. YOU ARE OVERFLOWING WITH GILANY-NESS!" I laughed, suddenly hyper. And when I went hyper, I'll tell you now, I can fight a damn bit better. I grinned wildly, the sudden energy surging through me.

I threw two kicks at him, one high, one low, aimed a punch at his face (which thankfully he managed to dodge – I don't know what I would do if I actually hit him in the face) and then swung my hand at his side, under his ribs, which struck home. I jumped back in surprise, I hadn't thought I would really hit him. He chuckled. "Good, you're getting better! What just happened with the change of heart?" He asked, rubbing his side a bit.

"I went hyper! Er... Are you ok?" I asked, looking sceptically at his side.

"Seriously, I expected you to hit me at some stage, I can be a punching bag if need be. Come on, attack me!"

Grinning, I attacked him again, working on my kicks, mostly. I am a kicker, kicking is my strength. I have next to no upper body strength (I need to work on that...) so I wasn't as good with punching.

I realised that everybody else had stopped what they were doing – even Halt – to watch how I was going. Will and Horace were both grinning, giving me a thumbs up. Halt looked grim (what else?) and Alyss was reading her book in the shade, keeping half an eye out for me. It was hard trying to fight Gilan because he was so tall compared to me! I had to reach up to get to his face, I would never have a hope of kicking him in the head unless I did one of those crazy anime moves where people jump up 2 meters in the air and land a perfect kick in somebody's face. Seriously! I can only kick to his shoulder, and even then, I usually fall over.

I was aware once again, of the prickling in my throat becoming stronger as the day went on.

* * *

We had practised for a good 2 hours, and I was officially OUT of hyper mode, and ready to collapse. And collapse I did. On the floor. In the middle of the lounge room. I was covered in dirt, and had sore legs and arms and, well, sore _everything. _I had bruises, a scratch or two, and nobody was even fighting back. Gilan (my human punch bag) walked in with a chuckle, seemingly unscathed. He handed me a glass of cold water. I took it happily, sitting on the floor, sculling it, before getting a brain freeze.

"Thanks for training me, Gilan. So, how did I do?"

"You went very well! Considering you have never been in a real fight or taken any lessons before, you did very well."

"I learnt a bit from my big brother before he moved out..." I said, sheepishly.

"Well you still did well, so deal with it." He said, perfectly cheerfully. I waved my arm at him feebly before heading upstairs for a much needed shower.

* * *

Washed and refreshed, I went back downstairs, in a fresh set of clothing that wasn't sweaty and dirty, hair still wet. Looking at my watch, I saw it was only 3:00pm. I sighed, picking up my plushy frog from the table, where I had left it earlier. I walked into the lounge room, and, feeling lucky, suddenly threw the frog at Gilan's head, screaming "FROG ATTACK!" it feebly bounced off the side of his head and landed on Casper, who was woken from his slumber on Gilan's lap. He turned his head around like an owl, staring at me with lifeless eyes. I chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of my head.

"Please... Get this _cat _off of me!" He said, suddenly, scaring me out of my thoughts. "He has been following me EVERYWHERE! The constant 'Meow? Meoooow?' is driving me BONKERS!" he said, clearly frustrated. I laughed, seriously, cracked up.

"Ahhh, looks like you learned your lesson, eh Gilan?" I said, a wide grin on my face. "That's what you get for giving him tuna!" I noticed my throat was still hurting, a little more so when I spoke or swallowed.

Gilan scowled at me, before pointing to the Casper, who yawned in response and stretched his paws out, digging his claws into Gilan's leg. He stifled a squeak. I knew what it felt like. Happy cats + human leg = happy cat digging claws into human leg. The worst thing was that Casper was totally oblivious that it actually _hurt_ being clawed. He looked at me with sleepy eyes. I decided to give him the punishment he hated most. I walked over, picked him up, and cradling him like a small child, rocked him about making noise like 'N'AWWWWWW YOU'RE JUST SO CUUUUTE!' and he usually freaked out. He never bit or scratched me, but he freaked out and squirmed out of my arms, running off to sulk with his food bowl. I chuckled. As did Gilan, who was also rather surprised to find that _that_ was how you got rid of the cat.

Eventually, mum and dad got back from work to find us all in a heated game of Snap! I had lost ages ago, along with Alyss, and we were watching the Rangers with their freaky ninja skills swipe up every single card in the blink of an eye. Will was coming first, Halt second, Gilan last. He kept getting distracted, glancing at the sleeping cat across the room, throwing evil glares at him.

They left us to our card games and eventually we had dinner. Nachos. Yum. My throat didn't like it as much though, the sauce was spicy, and it stung. It was hurting a bit more since the fight. I decided not to let my parents know that I had been fighting all afternoon.

Afterwards, we played more cards, and I sat down in bed and read my book while the others took turns showering. I had already showered, so I was fine. Soon, Alyss came in, and sat down on her sleeping bag. She was wearing light pink pyjamas that we bought at the market. I was wearing an old shirt and pair of pyjama pants that I had adopted as my pyjamas. Yeah, yeah, I know. Lazy.

Anyway, we went to bed soon after, and this time, I requested Alyss to actually _wake me up_ this time.

Also, I lied, there was no surprise. I just wanted you to FEEL THE SUSPENSE!

**A/N: Wahhh, longest chapter yet! Nearly 3000 words! That doesn't include the authors notes, by the way, with the authors notes it is over 3000. Kyaaa, again, very sorry for being so slack, I am going to have to really crank up the brain power to do the homework I was... Erm... **_**Supposed **_**to do today... Meaning, I'll most likely pop back on Fanfiction and read... Then get in trouble tomorrow... Meh, I don't care. ANYWAY! The fight was inspired by my friend in real life (yes, we have fake fights – it is fun!) who has just joined FanFiction, and her name is... Wolfiwill! Yaaaay! Ok, moment over, I should get off the computer now, my brain is DEAD.**

**Frogata, over and out!**


	11. Sick

**A/N: Hey dudes! I have been away from this story for too long, I know but – HOLY CRAP ALMOST 50 REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU PEOPLES! XD**

**Ok, aside from that, yeah, I have been writing a Death Note story, and reading Death Note FanFictions, and watching Death Note and reading Death Note the manga... And obsessing over the 3 anime characters from Death Note I now proclaim myself married to (L, Mello and Matt for anyone wondering. Matsuda is my big brother! :3). So yes. I am a REAL OTAKU NOW! I even have the figurines! :3**

**Ok, WARNING! This chapter has come out of my brain. Almost anything that comes out of my brain doesn't end well, but I can guess you already know that yes? (:3**

**Well, enjoy, mah buddays!**

* * *

Lost In Reality

Chapter 11: Sick

* * *

"Hello. Hello? Oi! Sarina, get up already!" _No, go away annoying person! _

"Hey Sarina! Come on, you asked us to wake you up!" _Ahh whatever, might as well. Couldn't hurt. Much. Maybe._

I open my eyes to see Will and Alyss inches away from my face. "Argh!" I screamed, as they jumped backward from shock, Will tripping over Alyss's sleeping bag and falling on his bum. He looked up and grinned sheepishly. I was too tired to care, so I just sat up, rubbing my head. Probably the first thing I noticed was the horrible burn in the back of my throat. Then the headache, then Will on the floor, then my blocked nose, then Alyss struggling not to laugh, then the headache again, and then that it was... 5 IN THE MORNING?

Ok so I wasn't expecting them to wake me up _this _early, but 5? Seriously people? Anyway, I was already up and feeling too crappy to go back to sleep so I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled over to my bedside table. I brushed my hair so it no longer looked like a freaky cross between Einstein's hair and a Mohawk and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Will left to go practise his epic Ranger skills, and Alyss left to have a shower, so I got dressed. My favourite dragon T-shirt and dark grey cargo pants (what else?). Yawning, _Ow, my throat! _I headed downstairs for some food. Though I didn't think I could swallow anything solid... Or liquid... I _did _say I had a sore throat, ok?

So, as a solution to my problem, I did what any other sick person my age or younger would do; I grabbed a GINORMOUS bowl of chocolate ice cream. It was yummy and soothing, sliding down my throat and numbing it with its creamy delicious-ness. Don't ask me how delicious-ness helps numb my throat, just accept it. I had to blow my nose quite a bit though. A few minutes later and everyone was around the table, save for my parents and Ellie. But she didn't live here, so she didn't count. And Santa only comes here at Christmas. And the Easter Bunny had been made into rabbit stew by my Dad last year when we went rabbit hunting. And Voldemort was _fictional _so he wasn't here. Then again, the Ranger's Apprentice characters were supposed to be fictional but look how that turned out? Wait a second... Does that mean that Voldemort is here too? _WE'RE ALL GONNA DIEEEEE!_

Getting back to the point already, everyone was gathered around the table where I was seated. I looked at them, confused to say the least. They looked right back. Finally, I asked them, my voice slightly hoarse, "Why are guys standing around me and staring at me like a piece of meat?"

"You look sick," Halt stated bluntly. Put it to Halt to be blunt. Underneath all the blunt-ness of his words, I could sense some worry. Not much, but for Halt, even a fraction is enough. Inwardly, I smiled. _He isn't a total party-pooper! Just a little over half, though... Oh well, can't teach an old dog new tricks! _ I thought. As much as I was touched that they were worried, my inner devil devised a plan and presented it to my brain in such a way I could not ignore it. I decided to play a few mind games on the poor unsuspecting antelopes surrounding the table. And I was the lion. But I was called Sarina, not Leo. Too cliché.

I made a face of realisation, then horror (to the best of my ability, were it not for the fact that I looked sick, they would have seen me struggling not to smirk). Looking up at Halt with fearful eyes, I said "Halt, do you know one of the major differences between our two worlds?" He didn't respond, so I took it as a cue to go on, "The people in our world... Our bodies are different. We cannot handle sickness. Roughly 85% of the time we die from even the smallest cold." They looked at me with horror and disbelief. I stared at the tabletop, and the half melted ice cream sitting in the bottom of the bowl. I watched as the condensation dripped down the side, which for some reason almost made me yawn. But the Rangers and co were too busy exchanging worried looks with each other to notice when I _did _yawn, and because of it, a small tear welled up in my eye, spilling over and down my cheek. Inside, I was laughing and crying from how well my evil plan was going. But I was happy, the tear only helped make my performance more realistic.

Gilan perked up as he saw the tear roll down my face. Fire was burning in his eyes, and he clenched his fists at his sides. "We'll get you better! You'll live, just wait and see! Who's with me?" He said heroically. Halt stuck his hand up in the air.

"Aye," he said. The others all put their hands up too. I could have cried for real were my life actually in danger. Chances are it would be in danger when they found out I was just pulling their legs, but how was I supposed to think of that? My inner devil doesn't care for _my _survival, after all. Alyss sniffled and started to cry. I sneezed, half ruining the moment, half not. The sneeze racked my throat making more tears of pain well up in my eyes. I rubbed them as if I didn't want them to see me crying, and smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you so, so much everybody," I said with a sniffle. Though I figured I should probably end the joke before they _actually _kill me. By process of ripping out my organs. And possibly eating them. Depends on how hungry they are. "But I made all of that up. I'll be perfectly fine!" I grinned, glad that I had managed to trick them so well, considering normally I was a terrible actor. I did it so well that they thought I was going to die, even! My face fell when I saw their faces though. I started sweating, suddenly feeling more hot than usual, as they took a step closer to me. They looked... What's the word? Oh yeah, _pissed. _Perhaps I shouldn't have tricked them in the first place. Then I wouldn't be so dead. Yep, I was about to get _seriously _disembowelled. And I hadn't even finished my ice-cream yet!

Oh dear...

* * *

My throat was _not _hurting before. Compared to this, anyway. Now even ice cream felt like sandpaper mixed with pointy gravel and lit candles. Lit candles with spikes set into the wax. And no wax.

I would rather get rid of my neck by any means necessary (use your imaginations, people!) and leave my head to balance awkwardly on my shoulders then deal with this! So, as I predicted they _didn't _tear out my organs and eat them, they just decided to force-feed me half a bottle of chilli sauce. Ok, so maybe I _won't _listen to my inner devil next time (no promises) if it's going to get me killed. I highly doubt my throat will ever feel the same again. And aside from my throat, my tongue feels like it has had all the taste buds pulled off. And then like I had licked a rusty pole. And stapled it a few times. Then set it on fire. My mouth was big hurt. Biiiiig, big hurt.

I pretty much spent the rest of the day drinking ice water – not that it did much – and watching TV. I was buggered from the 'chilli' incident, and I now spent my time shuffling away from the Rangers and co whenever they were around. Which wasn't very often, thankfully. They were all outside, running, playing, practising freaky Ranger skills or just relaxing. I was stuck inside huddled up in a blanket, constantly petting the cat, and demolishing the box of tissues next to me. I was annoyed at them for not keeping me company, but, to be fair, I deserved it. Gilan walked in, and with a cocky grin and sarcastic tone, said "Whoooooo boy! That was so fun! Ohhh, hey Sarina, you feeling any better? We're having a ball out here! Real shame you can't join us and all." I scowled at him, since I couldn't talk. But it was interrupted by a violent sneeze that had me in tears again. I blinked them away and sent an evil glare at Gilan. I stood up, and walked over to him. He looked down at me, a smug grin on his face. It soon turned into surprise when I wrapped my arms around his torso in a hug. I rubbed my face against his chest and let go soon after. His face was hilarious! He looked so stupid!

"Wha-what was that for?" He asked, stuttering slightly. I glanced around for a piece of paper, smiling when I spotted one, then found a pen for some reason lying conveniently next to it. I wrote down on the paper in messy handwriting: _I'm trying to get you sick! Muahahahaha! _And left a menacing looking evil smiley face next to it. He looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "How do you know I can even _get _sick, seeing as I'm from another world?" I pondered this for half a second before writing my reply. _We'll find out then, won't we? Kyahahaha! _ Gilan gave me a bored look before getting himself a glass of water and going back outside. I really did hope that he would get sick. After all, he was the one who put the most sauce down my throat. I sighed, getting back to doing sweet, sweet nothing. I stayed that way for the rest of the day, except for when Alyss came in with a peace bowl of yogurt. I questioned if there was any chilli using my super-piece-of-paper-and-pen-of-doom! When I deemed it safe, I ate it. That's generally what you do with yogurt. She left after a while, and eventually I hit an early night in bed with a wet, cool rag over my forehead. I had a slight temperature, and I was feeling crappier then a bucket made of crap that's full of crap. I made sure that nobody would wake me up, and settled in to sleep.

* * *

TWO DAYS LATER!

* * *

I was on the couch watching a movie with Will, Gilan, Alyss and Horace. They had forgiven me the day after the 'chilli' incident as I have now named it, and so have begun to hang around me more. Ellie had called me a couple of times and asked if she could come over, but she gave up once I said I was sick. Eventually I became well enough to eat solid food, but now I had a nasty cough, and as soon as the sun went down, I would get these terrible coughing fits that had me breathless and feeling like I needed to throw up. Not pleasant. I also had a runny nose and a headache, but I was still feeling way better than before. In a few days, I would be ready to run around like a moron as I always do. It's kind of my trademark thing, you know? Halt was in his cabin, last I checked making a new bow.

Mum and Dad had taken me out to the doctor earlier today, leaving the Ranger gang at home. All the doctor said was that I had a virus, and all I could do was wait for it to pass. I was half worried about everyone else, too. I didn't know if they would get sick or not. I just had to wait and see.

* * *

THREE DAYS LATER!

* * *

I jumped down from the tree and grinned. Yep, I was all better! No more cold! I walked inside to get a glass of water, looking over at the 5 blobs of blankets and 5 piles of used tissues on the couch. I went to them and smirked smugly.

"HELLO PEOPLE! ISN'T IT JUST A LOOOVELY DAY TODAY? SO NICE AND SUNNY!" I said in my most obnoxious voice possible, making sure to be extra loud, just for their headaches. One of the blankets moved, revealing a hand that I presume belonged to Will. Said hand was giving me the finger. Wonderful.

"Oh come on guys! ... And Alyss! Just because _I'm _all better and _you're _all sick with my cold doesn't mean you have to be so grumpy!" 4 heads popped up out of their respective piles of blankets to scowl at me. One head popped up to blow his reddened nose.

"Halt? Halty-poo?" I sighed and almost turned to walk off when a thought struck me. "Hey Will. Where did you even _learn _that?" I asked him, referring to the gesture he so kindly gave me. He pointed to the television. I face palmed. "I knew I shouldn't have shown you that..." And _then _I went to read, seeing as the blobs had disappeared again.

... But at least Gilan got sick first.

* * *

**A/N: Ehh, a short-ish chapter for you. I would write more, but that would take effort. AND EFFORT AND I DON'T GET ALONG! Ok, so maybe this chapter wasn't as crazy as I would have liked, but to be fair, all they did was sit around. And torture Sarina... OH WELL!**

**I shall now reply to reviews! It's a new thing I got going here! :P**

Smoshgirl28: **Yeah, I know I'm lazy! And I DO wear hobo gloves... THERE IS NO CONNECTION THERE! Ok, lol. It was your review that made me go "You know what? I'll write the next chapter." That is my amazing story. Oh yeah. :)**

Arabella carrick: **Thank you for reading and all! I'm very glad you like it! I am not giving this story up ever! I AM STUBBORN! 8D**

Ranger Sage: **Hey buddy! I do that too, sometimes, I spend my time reading one super long fanfiction that is already 50 chapters in, and then I realise another story that I have been keeping up with has been updated and I have ignored it for a while and I'm all like "NOOOO! I HAVE NEGLECTED THIS STORY! D:" Anyway, thank you for the review and kind comments! Hope you enjoyed this chappie!**

Luvergirlof books: **Yup! You guessed right! I hoped my subtle hints were enough for people to realise what was going to happen next! ;) Thank you very much for the kind words! THEY ARE SO KIND! I love tuna! They cook it before putting it in the can, don't worry. I think it's salmon that you're thinking of there. Also thank you very much! That is just my writing style. I can't write drama or romance very well, just what a hyperactive me would do in the circumstances I deem entertaining. Of course in real life I sit on the computer all day eating junk food and 2 Minute Noodles. But that's just me. Besides, seeing as Sarina is only 13, I'd have to make another OC for her to like (which I won't do) seeing as any of the Rangers would be paedophilia. I'm not even going to mention Alyss *shudder*.**

Dodo.123: **Hey buddy! Glad you liked it! My cat is like that in real life. He follows me for the rest of the day if he even **_**hears **_**a tuna can opening. And Gilan is so fun to torture! It's the best! XP Yay! You worked it out! I put a few hints in there, so yah. Also, when you said don't take too long next time, I didn't expect myself to take even LONGER, so sorry about that! Hehe... Haz you read/watched Death Note yet? IS IT AMAZING LIKE I SAID IT WOULD BEEEEE?**

Wolfiwill: **Hey dude, glad you liked it! Even though you told me at school the day after I posted it, I SHALL STILL REPLY TO YOOOOU! Ok, so. Yes, I know, you kinda have this laughing fit and then you fall over and then Wendy and Heidi sit on you and the you laugh harder cos your dogs just sat on you and then you usually need me to help you stand up when you have finally finished laughing. :P You know it's true. I read and read and read and read anyway. You know me. Well, glad you enjoyed the chapter, until next time!**

**OK! So, hopefully we can make it up to 50 reviews! (Go team!) Aaaaaand, try not to kill me too much for the super late update! **

**Frogata, over and out!**


	12. Protection

**A/N: I know. There is absolutely no reason why I should have left it this late. To be honest, I don't really want to write this. I haven't wanted to write for over a year. Depression and anxiety are ruling my life at the moment, and… Look, I'm sorry, to all of you. I hope you all understand.**

**For those reading this; I thank you for sticking with this story, and I again apologise if my writing style has changed. Hell, I'm all bitter and generally angry at the world recently. A lot of my thoughts that used to be full of love are now full of hate, and as much as I don't want that to reflect on my writing, I'm just warning you that it might.**

**I need to give a huge thanks to **LittleBabeBlue, **as it was their review that inspired me to pick this up again. It also helped that I realised I had over 60 reviews. Like, SERIOUSLY GUYS! I never thought that my story would get that much! Especially seeing as I think it's old and crappy now. :P  
But anyway, let's save all that for another time shall we? Let's see how I go writing this thing.**

**I don't own any of the Ranger's Apprentice characters, nor do I own Ranger's Apprentice. All characters aside from RA ones belong to me.**

* * *

Lost in Reality

* * *

Chapter 12: Protection

* * *

It was a moment later that I realised I had nothing to do with all of my Araluen buddies sick. And Ellie has a terrible immune system (I mean _terrible_), so I couldn't have her over… Well, let's just say that after an unpleasant ant bite I stayed away from the outside while the others recovered from their colds. That doesn't mean I didn't try to rub it in their faces as much as possible, oh no.

No, I made sure they felt every inch of my feelings towards them after the…. Chilli incident…

Those spite filled actions mainly involved slipping certain hot things into their coffees. I mean, I'm not one to waste things, sure, but this was worth it. This was revenge! REVENGE! FOR THE GLORY OF THE EMPIRE! You know, the little Empire of crazed brain cells running loose in my skull. They need their revenge. Though I'm rambling; I suppose I should get back to telling you about the Gang, right?

Well, one of these chilli-coffee mornings, I just happened to _forget _that when people get sick, they actually get _better. _As in they stop being sick. As in they get their strength back. As in Sarina got herself stuck in a gumtree for an hour. I mean, I could have heeded the warnings that Halt gave me after the first time, but really. He expected _me _of all people to take them to heart! Pfft! I need no such warning! I'll have you know I got plenty of sun while up in that tree!  
Well, also mini heart attacks. I seriously thought I was going to fall, I mean gumtrees are _high_. And Gilan made me _beg_ to be let down. Me. Begging.

Anyway, for most of the time while they were sick I was either lying on the floor in the lounge room (where they were all bundled in blanket blobs), on the floor in my room, or on my bed. I was in ultra-lazy mode. I don't think I've ever been this lazy. Except for that one time in primary school where I had the flu and slept for two days straight; but that was at least justified.

So, the morning after… What shall I call it… The _tree incident_, I stumbled down the stairs at around lunch time to find that I had indeed slept in until lunch time.

"Ahh! Sarina! I forgot to wake you up, I'm _sorry_," Alyss said sweetly, with a bitter edge. I knew what that meant. She was still mad at me for what I did with the coffee.

"Uh huh. Yeah. You forgot to wake poor old me up. OH IT HURTS ALYSS, OH HOW YOU WOUND ME!" I cried, placing my hand over my heart dramatically, and pretending to buckle my knees and collapse on the floor.

I got a funny look, and some whispered words that I don't think I was meant to hear. Deciding to poke my tongue out, I padded over to the kitchen to find myself some food. Gilan was in there, along with Halt, and they were making sandwiches. As I walked past Gilan about to put tuna on a slice of bread, I leant up and said into his ear: "Gilan. Drain it first. Remember last time?"  
Snickering to myself, I retreated to the fridge and stared blankly at its contents, while Gilan drained the tuna, and Halt sat back and watched.

"Why do they even make this stuff with the juice? Who would even want _tuna juice?_" Gilan mumbled.

"It's so that the tuna stays moist. I think… Maybe… Oh gods, there's Casper…"

"Oh not again…. Shoo, cat! I'm not giving you any!" Gilan exclaimed at Casper, flapping his arms to try and shoo him away. Little did he know, he was probably just fanning the smell of tuna onto the poor cat.  
Oh Gilan. For such a smart Ranger, you really do have your thick moments.

"He's not going to leave you alone, you realise," I said, raising an eyebrow and chuckling to myself.

Gilan shot me a sour look. "I'd gathered," and went right back to making his sandwich.

I sighed. All the sleep I had gotten the past few days hadn't left me more energetic; in fact they sapped my energy. I just wanted to curl up on the couch with a never-ending supply of ice cream and Mountain Dew. And there was nothing in the fridge. Mum hadn't gone to the supermarket for quite a while, so we were low on grub.

Deciding that I would eat later, I wandered back into the dining room to find Alyss was no longer there. _Oh well, _I thought, _I may as well flop on the lounge then. _Though I came across a rather cute display when I arrived in the lounge room. Well, mostly. Alyss and Will were snuggling on the couch, but Horace kind of spoiled the mood, as he was asleep in one of the lounge chairs. And snoring. Loudly.

"Ohohohohoho, what have we here?" I smirked at the couple.

They blushed and look in opposite directions to each other. "Nothin'," Will replied.

"Oh _suuuuure, _I believe you Willy-Will," I smiled slyly, "I'll just leave you two to have your… _Kissy-kissy-time," _as I slipped out the door. I was just about to keep walking when I remembered something and turned back to them, leaning on the doorframe.

"Oh, and use protection, kiddies!" I winked, and bounded off to find something else to do.

"Hey Will…" I heard Alyss begin, "What's protection?"  
Oh god. I hadn't told them about that. They didn't have that sort of stuff back in Araluen…  
Oh my.

"I dunno. I suppose we should ask Sarina about it?" Will replied.  
_No no no no no no no no no that's too awkward! _I mentally cried.

I practically sprinted out the room and back into the kitchen. "Gilan! Halt! You have to help me! Hide me from Will and Alyss!" I begged, clinging onto Gilan's shirt as he was halfway through a bite of sandwich. Halt was crunching through an apple.

"Why should we?" Gilan asked smugly, flicking my nose.

"BECAUSE WILL AND ALYSS ARE GOING TO ASK ME THE MOST _AWKWARD_ THING EVER!"

"What's in it for us?"

"I'll take Casper with me!"

Halt looked at the cat, and then at me. "I don't know," he said, "I rather like his company."  
I stared at him in hopelessness and decided that this was a complete waste of time. I faintly heard Gilan objecting to Halt's statement; though that didn't matter anymore. Running out the back door, I took solace in Halt's cabin. Nobody had been there in days, so surely Will wouldn't think to look there.

I sprinted through the cabin after slamming the front door shut, careful to avoid the many garden tools my Dad had decided to leave lying around the place, and ran into Will's room. I tried to squish myself in-between the wall and the bed as best I could, as there was no room for me underneath the bed. I sat there and waited until I felt my breathing slow and my heart calm down.

It was just after that, though, that I heard the front door to the cabin open. It wasn't long before the bedroom door opened and both Will and Alyss spotted me immediately. I didn't notice this at the time; but they had their hands linked.

"Hey Sarina, you know how earlier you told us to 'use protection'? What is protection?" Will asked innocently.

My face must have showed how freaked out I was, because Alyss' eyebrows furrowed slightly. "No no no no no no no no no, I can't tell you! How did you find me so quick anyways!?" I yelped.

"Alright…" Alyss began, "Maybe you won't tell us straight away." She looked at Will with a sly smile, and Will took a couple seconds before he realised what she was trying to communicate.

Soon his face mirrored Alyss'. "Well, we asked Gilan and Halt where you were, and they immediately pointed to the cabin. As for the other thing, well, you'd have to tell us if we didn't let you leave the room, right?"

My heart sank.

* * *

"YOU TRAITORS!" I screamed as loud as I could in the direction of the house. I swear I could just _feel_ Gilan snickering.

* * *

**A/N: You know what? That was… Really satisfying to write…. I surprised myself. I know it must sound very different compared to how it used to be, but I like this style better. It makes Sarina seem more real. To me at least. I'd appreciate it if you guys let me know how I did. I was really nervous that I was going to make it sound horrible or something…. ^^;**

**Again, I just want to thank you all. There are no real guesses as to when I'll next update; I'm going to need some ideas. **

**I love you all!**

**Frogata, over and out!**


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